


Without Wings

by RitWrites



Series: Radioactive Hearts [1]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 3
Genre: Love, M/M, Moral Dilemmas, Sexual Content, Survival
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-08
Updated: 2015-08-04
Packaged: 2018-02-12 06:47:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 31,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2099619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RitWrites/pseuds/RitWrites
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which the guardian angel of the Capital Wasteland needs a guardian angel, himself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. We're Born In The Vault

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Playlist for this fic can be found here: https://open.spotify.com/user/12140666522/playlist/3Cyoj2GyZyW3uXozaDyyVS

Among the underground vaults of the D.C. Wasteland, it was no secret that Vault 101 was one of the strangest. Most of the vaults had opened decades prior, allowing their residents to roam the Earth, making use of what little resources were left after the war, and doing their best to repopulate and restore the planet.

Vault 101, however, was never scheduled to open. Vault-Tec had intended it that way. After all, the vaults were never truly designed to protect anyone.

"We're born in the vault, we live in the vault, and we die in the vault," was the mantra of every Vault 101 overseer. Through the numerous generations, it had not changed. No one ever entered, and no one ever left. That was what the residents were told.

Diagnoses of Vault Depressive Syndrome were becoming more and more common in the younger generations, and the children of Vault 101 did not flourish efficiently. They were pushed to work at young ages, marry early, and have as many offspring as possible, rarely encouraged to seek out their own talents or futures.

Liam Brickly and Butch DeLoria were two such children.

Even when they were small, the relationship between Butch and Liam had been a complicated one. 

Often times, when they were very young children, Liam's father, James, would be put in charge of what was essentially a free daycare service for the vault. As if being the vault's only doctor wasn't enough.

The overseer had claimed that it was good for the vault, however, and that it would keep the doctor "out of trouble".  And since the overseer had said it, James was more than happy to comply.

At age five, the favorite game of the children of Vault 101 had been dubbed “Princess Rescue”. Butch absolutely despised Princess Rescue. It was stupid, unfair, and Amata Almodovar always got to play the hero. And because Liam was Amata's best friend, she refused to have him pit against her. And so, Liam was always stuck in the role of the trapped royal.

Butch and his best friend Wally Mack, on the other hand, were always cast as the bad guys: Butch normally taking on the role of the giant, evil, but apparently oh-so-beatable dragon, whose job it was to guard Liam in his “tower”. The "tower", of course, was was actually just a dining chair.

Wally was always given the honor of being Butch's vile wizard owner. It just wasn't fair. Not only did Butch always get stuck as a bad guy who could never win, but Wally got to tell him what to do, as well.

Likewise, Liam didn't seem to appreciate the game nearly as much as Amata or Wally did. The young, clumsy, ginger boy was reduced to a prop, sitting in the corner, cheering for his savior while she battled with a cardboard gift-wrap tube. At the end of the game it was always the same, too. Liam would be forced to plant a great big "thank you" kiss on Amata's cheek, then get onto her invisible steed, and ride off into the sunset.

It was the kiss that put Butch in the worst mood of all. The little five-year-old was furious with jealousy whenever it happened. Liam never kissed him, after all. So why did he have to kiss Amata? Why did he have to cheer for her? Maybe the prince and the dragon were in love, and the stupid hero princess was ruining everything? Stupid Amata.  

Butch never voiced these thoughts of course. He didn't want anyone to think that he thought Liam was cute, or anything.

Butch definitely thought that Liam was cute. He was timid and kind of a pushover, but he was also tiny, with the most adorable crop of orange hair, huge blue eyes, and a spattering of reddish freckles across tawny colored features. He was also always very kind, sharing his snacks and always helping his father patch up the minor scrapes and cuts the other kids ended up with from time to time. It wasn't unusual for the doctor's son to walk around with a wad of bandages in his pocket, ready to help out in whatever way that he could.  

The kid was a saint. Sure, his kindness and soft personality could get annoying, but he was adorable and wonderful in Butch's eyes. He wanted that kiss.

Determined to get his way, Butch had decided that he wouldn't allow Amata to win anymore. He wouldn't just roar at her, or pretend to scratch at her. He’d punch her, if he had to, for real. He would fight valiantly to protect his prince from her, and in return, he’d earn what was rightfully his.

In retrospective, it was an absolutely terrible plan. But Butch was five and had a crush.

When Ellen DeLoria first brought her son into the Brickly's small, two-room apartment, the first thing he did was scramble into the bedroom. He was excited to find that none of the other children had arrived yet, and that it was just the two of them. He found the little redhead playing with a Nuka-Cola toy truck, happily rolling it back and forth on the floor.

“Hi!” greeted Liam, energetically, looking up at his friend.

“Yo!” Butch made his way beside Liam, sitting next to him on the the worn out floor mat, laying his head affectionately on his shoulder.

“Butch!” giggled Liam, wrapping his teeny little arms around the other boy, hugging him tightly. Butch tried to wiggle out of Liam's grip, as he quickly became embarrassed by the situation. He couldn't help but really enjoy the attention, however.

“Wanna race?” Liam asked, after he had released his friend. He turned to pull a little blue toy car from the toy-box behind them and offered it to Butch.

“Heck yeah!” Butch grinned, accepting the toy.

The next ten minutes consisted of the two boys pushing their toy vehicles along until one crashed into the opposite wall before the other. It was a wonderful ten minutes, which was cut short when other children began to enter the room. 

It was Susie Mack, followed by her twin brother, Wally. Despite his desire to, Butch couldn't just ignore Wally. He was his best friend, after all. The same could not be said for Susie, however.

Susie Mack was quite mean to all of the boys her age, though her dislike of Liam was obviously strongest. Unless Amata was playing and Liam was not, she would adamantly refuse to join Princess Rescue. Amata, however, refused to leave her best friend out, so Susie rarely played with them.

“Gross,” snarled Susie, shaking her little strawberry-blonde head, as she glared at Butch and Liam on the floor.

“You’re gross!” snapped Butch, sticking his tongue out at her, “And smelly, too!”

“I am not!” Susie stomped her foot, angrily.

Butch crinkled his nose in disdain, “You are, too! You’re a gross, smelly, ugly girl, and nobody likes you!”

“Stop it!” It was Amata, who had entered the room, “Butch! That’s not very nice!”

“I don’t care!” insisted Butch, standing up. 

Liam looked around nervously at the group. He hated it whenever they shouted at each other. It usually meant his dad would come in and scold them, and that he would get a personal talking to later that night, whether he’d been part of the arguing or not.

“Children?” It was James, right on cue, entering from the living room, where he had been filling out paperwork for the clinic, “I thought I heard shouting. Is everything alright?”

“Everything’s fine, Doctor Brickly,” said Butch, putting on his most innocent face.

“Butch was calling me names!” huffed Susie.

“Yeah, and now we can add tattletale onto that list, too,” remarked Butch, grumbling under his breath.

“Butch,” came James’ stern voice, as he crouched down to Butch’s level, “Are we going to have a problem here?”

“No,” said Butch, irritated by the treatment he was getting. Technically Susie had started the whole thing, anyway. It wasn't his fault that she was so mean.

“Then I want you to apologize to Susie. And behave, please?” asked James, standing up straight and folding his arms across his chest. Much to Butch’s annoyance, the doctor stood there, waiting for Butch to give a proper apology in his presence.

He sighed heavily, before turning to Susie, “Fine. I’m sorry for calling you gross.”

“Good,” James said, seeming satisfied, although still unhappy, “Now, I have some paperwork that I need to finish up. But I’ll be right in the next room if anyone needs me. Please try and stay safe, alright?” And with that, Liam's father left the room just as quickly as he had entered.

Angrily, Butch plopped himself once again onto the floor beside Liam, “Your dad is such a buzzkill,” he groaned.

“Oh,” came Liam's quiet, saddened reply, “I’m sorry. I wish he hadn't yelled at you.” He looked down at the ground, quietly rolling his toy truck between his legs, nervously. 

Butch cocked his head in confusion.  Why was Liam apologizing when he hadn't done anything?  He decided to reach over and touch Liam's hand, which was absent-mindedly still clutching his toy.

“Hey, it’s okay. You don’t need to be scared.”

“I’m not,” replied Liam, allowing Butch to link his fingers with his own, “I just don’t like it when he gets mad. He treats everyone like they’re stupid babies.”

“Butch apologized. Everything is fine now,” Amata comforted, as she joined the two, crouching in front of Liam, similarly to how James had crouched in front of Butch.

“Aw, is baby Liam gonna cry?” laughed Susie, “Better have daddy come in and save you!” 

Butch noticed Wally chuckle at the comment, and he reminded himself to punch him later on, when James wasn't around.

“No I’m not!” insisted Liam, glaring at her, defiantly. This took Butch by surprise, as Liam was rarely so outspoken. Butch felt the desperate need to protect his friend, before things got too ugly.

Apparently, Amata was having similar thoughts, as she stood up and announced, “Hey, we don’t need to fight you guys! How about we play Princess Rescue?”

Butch internally groaned, before remembering his plan.

“I’m not playing that stupid game!” said Susie, going to sit down.

The rest of the children shrugged, not surprised in the least.

The game began, just as it always did, with Wally and Butch leading Liam over to his chair tower and pretending to lock him in.

“This is for your safety,” Butch said in-character, “So that no one can steal you from me.” 

Normally, the scene consisted of Butch and Wally laughing maniacally, saying things like, “Now you’ll never escape!  You’re stuck here for all eternity!”  So, it wasn't surprising when Wally and Liam both gave Butch strange looks.

“O-okay,” replied Liam, not knowing what else to say. Butch patted his cheek, lovingly.

“Oh no you don’t!”  giggled Amata, who had found the cardboard tube underneath Liam's bed. “I’ll save you!”

“No you won’t, princess-knight!” shouted Wally, before casting a “spell” on Amata, supposedly capturing her in a huge ice block.

“Oh no!” she exclaimed, raising her arms in a ridiculous pose, pretending to be frozen. However, a moment later it was decided that Butch accidentally melted her with his fire breath, much to his protest, and so, the game continued.

The next several minutes consisted of Wally and Amata fighting, until Wally had been “defeated”. When it was Butch’s turn to lose, however, he refused, shoving Amata to the floor.

The first time, she just brushed it off as roughhousing. However, the second time that Butch violently pushed her over, Amata got angry.

“Butch!  What are you doing?”

“I’m winning this time! You’re not going to be the hero anymore!” shouted Butch.

“But you’re the _dragon_!” Amata insisted.

“Well I don’t want to be!” And with that, Butch tried to push Amata a third time. Amata, however, was faster, and before he could get his hands on her, she punched him right in the nose. A loud crack was heard, along with Butch’s screams.

“Butch!  Amata!” exclaimed Liam, hopping down from his chair and rushing over to the two, followed by Wally and Susie.

“What’s going on in here?” It was James.  Liam flinched.

“Butch, what happened?” the doctor approached the child, whose nose was now gushing with blood. Butch was whimpering, clearly trying to hold back tears. 

Liam felt terrible. It was entirely his fault, as far as he was concerned. He should've told Amata how much he hated that game, instead of trying to hide it and spare her feelings. She would have listened to him. He had seen it coming. After all, Butch and Amata didn't really get along, and it was only a matter of time until blood was drawn.

“Did you do this?” James asked his son. Liam's stomach dropped at the accusation.

“It was me, Doctor Brickly,” admitted Amata, “Butch pushed me, so I hit him. I’m sorry.”

James sighed heavily, before helping Butch to his feet and walking him into the next room, Liam followed, concerned.

After James had cleaned Butch’s face and stopped the bleeding, he gave him an ice pack to press to his face, to bring down the swelling, before going to the other room to speak with Amata.

“Are you okay?” asked Liam, climbing up onto the couch, beside his friend.

“Shut up! If it wasn't for you, this never would have happened!”

“I’m so sorry,” Liam sniffed, feeling his eyes begin to sting with tears, “I should've just not played to begin with.”

“All I wanted was to be the one to save you for once,” grumped Butch, shifting the ice pack and staring directly ahead, “Maybe then you’d like me as much as you like Amata.”

So Butch wasn't really mad at him? Butch wanted to save him? To be his best friend? The five-year-old couldn't believe his luck.

“Well, in a way you did save me,” Liam said, scooting closer to Butch, who turned a dark shade of pink, “Maybe now we won’t have to play that stupid game anymore.”

And with that, Liam leaned over, giving Butch a quick kiss on the cheek.

Butch felt his pulse quicken and his blush deepen.  He was so happy. His plan had worked after all!

He then proceeded to swiftly punch Liam right in the face.

“Goddammit, Butch!” James shouted, as the sound of his son's crying reached his ears. 

* * *

Once the children of Vault 101 finally grew old enough to start their schooling, James was no longer required to look after them twice a week. He seemed relieved.

Liam found himself relieved as well. It meant that none of the other children could continue to mock him within his own home.

That didn't prevent them from doing so everywhere else, though.

Butch was the worst of them all. Ever since the day that Amata had fractured his nose, he had become Liam’s biggest bully. He didn’t know why Butch had decided to hate him, all of a sudden. 

Butch had said that he wanted to become closer to Liam, and then he had punched him. It had hurt, leaving a dark, swelling bruise on his cheek. However, the emotional damage had been far worse. Liam deeply cared for Butch DeLoria, and losing his friendship was heart-wrenchingly awful for him. 

Amata did her best to help him through the loss, cracking jokes at Butch’s expense, calling him names, and coming up with pranks that the two of them might play on him and his friends. Liam appreciated Amata and her lively ways of cheering him up. As the overseer’s daughter, he didn't expect her to stick around once all of the other children began to openly push him around. 

Liam had inherited his father’s intelligence, it had seemed, and he was at the top of his class, causing the others to constantly pick on him for being a suck-up or setting expectations too high. One thing that he hadn't inherited, however, was James' ability to shrug off hurtful words. Liam was quite the emotional individual, which he often got mocked for, as well. But despite all of that, Amata had stayed by his side, refusing to allow peer pressure to drive her from her best friend.

Liam swore that Butch grew meaner with every year that went by. It destroyed him to see Butch become more and more angry at the world, spitting insults at anyone who would listen. He seemed so sure of himself and his abilities, yet he fought against any potential he had to be of use to the vault. He wasn't just a jerk for the hell of it, he did it to feel superior to everyone else, as if he had something to prove.

It frustrated Liam to no end. But he couldn't even make himself hate Butch, try as he might. Even through the name calling, the outcasting, and the pummelings, Liam couldn't help but merely feel sad. He was just too kindhearted to see Butch as anything other than his lost childhood friend.  

From time to time, when it simply became too much, Liam would break down into tears, as Butch, Wally, and their friend Paul Hannon circled around him, like old-world sharks, laughing, punching, throwing insults. He hated what was being done to him, but he hated what his friend had become even more.

Eventually, though, Liam had to start fighting back.

It was the day of his tenth birthday. Amata and his father had gone through the trouble of throwing him a surprise party in the vault's diner. 

Liam was incredibly grateful, as small and quiet as it was. Paul had even approached him, thanking him for the invitation and apologizing for giving him such a hard time. That was, before Butch and Wally caught him and began harassing the two of them. That, of course, had set Paul back on the correct path of hating his guts. However, Liam had appreciated the interaction nonetheless.  

He was given his Pip-Boy, as everyone in the vault did at age ten, and fell in love with the bulky contraption almost immediately. Liam looked down in amazement, as the overseer helped him strap it to his left forearm. The screen flickered green back at him, telling him that his vitals were in top shape. There was even a direct link to the vault's PA system installed.

Liam had found at an early age that he had a love of tinkering with things. He adored pulling apart his toys, and even his father’s lab equipment from time to time, and putting them back together, seeing how everything worked, and getting excited when he found that he could make improvements to them. Wally, on the other hand, didn't seem to appreciate the piece of tech nearly as much as Liam did.

“Nice Pip-Boy. What is that, one of the 3000A models? What a piece of junk! I think you have to wind it up every morning!” he sneered, as Liam made his way past the booth he, Butch, and Paul were sitting at. The three had spent most of the day trying to come up with names for some supposed gang that they were planning on starting. They had come up with all sorts of names, all of which Liam thought sounded ridiculous. From “The Vault Dwellers” to “The Grease Weasels” to “Wally and The Big Cheese”, Liam and Amata couldn't help but laugh, as the two eavesdropped on their conversation.

Liam wasn't at all used to receiving gifts, so when he had been given a Grognak the Barbarian comic book from Amata, a new baseball cap from the vault mechanic, Stanley, and a freshly baked sweetroll from Old Lady Palmer, he wasn't exactly sure what to do with it all. He was overcome with gratitude, and maybe just a bit embarrassed by all of the attention. Even through the shouts of “Happy birthday, nosebleed!” and “Nice party, dork-face!” from Butch, Wally, and Paul, Liam remained mostly happy.

Everything seemed fine, until Andy, the vault’s Mister Handy, attempted to cut the birthday cake. With saws running wildly, he managed to turn it to mush in mere seconds. That wasn't the worst part, though. The worst part came a few minutes later, when Butch had decided to approach Liam, backing him into one of the far corners of the diner.

“I’m hungry, and that stupid robot destroyed the cake!”  Butch’s dark blue eyes glinted in the false light, angrily, “Gimme that sweetroll you got from Old Lady Palmer!”

Liam swallowed, thickly. He wasn't exactly keen on having his birthday present bullied away from him. Still, Butch seemed to be having a worse day than usual. Liam had overheard him talking about his mom forcing him to attend the party, and Liam knew that that had meant a lot of drunken arguing, as Ellen DeLoria was the vault’s resident alcoholic. The entire vault knew of the state of the DeLoria family, as shouting, and even sometimes beatings, could be heard from down the hallway from their apartment on a regular basis.

“How about we share it? Half for me, half for you. That's fair, right?” Liam said, voice trembling ever so slightly.

Butch scoffed, “‘ _How about we share it?’_   What are you, five?  Give me that sweetroll or I'm going to pound you!”

Liam sighed. He was so tired of everyone pushing him around all of the time, especially Butch. He expected him to at least be somewhat civil, considering that it was his birthday. But no. That would have been asking for too much, it seemed.

Liam pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance, “Butch, I’m only going to ask this once: Please. Please, please,  _please_  leave me alone? Just for today. Just for right now, even. But please, just go sit down, and get out of my face.”

“Or what?” sneered Butch, taking a step closer, “You’ll go cry to daddy?”

“No,” replied Liam, calmly, “But I will hit you. I swear I will.”

A shocked look crossed Butch’s face for a moment. The look disappeared after that, however, and was replaced by a smirk.

“I’d like to see you try, nosebleed. You probably couldn't throw a punch if your life depended on it. And it will, if you don’t fork over that sweetroll.”

Liam, now fueled by adrenaline and irritation, was feeling more confident than ever. He didn't have to be nice, even if he preferred to be. Daringly, he narrowed his eyes, and clenched his fists in anger, “Come and get it, then.”

And just like that, the two ten-year-old boys exploded in a fury of kicks and punches, flinging insults as they went, much to the dismay of the other vault residents. Butch had attempted to shove Liam into the corner he had backed him into, but Liam, being rather wiry and quick on his feet, managed to slip past him, and tackled the slightly older boy to the checkered diner floor.

Butch glared up at Liam, who had pinned his arms to the ground and was grinning, triumphantly. Butch felt something in his stomach stir at the sight. Liam had way more guts than Butch had anticipated, he’d give him that. The situation was still upsetting, however, and Liam knowing that he had won didn't soften the blow at all.

“I tried to be nice!” Liam hissed, “But you just  _had_  to show off! You’re always trying to humiliate me, and I’m not going to let you anymore, Butch!”

“What are you two doing?” It was Herman Gomez, one of the vault's security officers, dressed in full stab-proof armor, despite the party setting.

Reluctantly, Liam got off of Butch, standing to face the security guard, apologizing immediately, “Sorry, Officer Gomez, that got out of hand.”

“It sure did. But why on Earth were you fighting?” Gomez asked, “I’ll bet it was Butch who started it.”  

Butch was well detested by the security force of Vault 101, constantly making more trouble than they thought he was worth. Officer Gomez was particularly kind to the children of the vault, but he was still no exception.

Liam looked back at Butch, who was brushing off his vault suit. He wasn't going to deny it, he wasn't the lying type. Still, Butch had gotten what was coming to him, and Liam figured that getting scolded by Officer Gomez wouldn't help the situation much. It would just rile Butch up more than he had already been. On top of that, he knew that the security officer would be reporting the incident to Butch's mother. Whatever the consequences of that might be, Liam wanted no part in it.

“It was nothing. Stupid, really. Just boys being boys, I guess.”

Officer Gomez quirked an eyebrow at him,  “Alright.  If you say so. I'm glad to see that you're not letting Butch bully you, but don’t pull that kind of behavior again.”

With a sigh of relief and a quick, questionable side-glance from Butch, Liam made his way across the room, to where Amata stood. 

“What'd Butch want? I thought you were in trouble there for a second,” her face was full of worry, as she placed a hand on Liam’s arm, “I can't believe he tried to start a fight at your own birthday party! What a jerk!”

“Well, I mean, I did provoke him…just a little,” Liam replied, laughing nervously.

“ _You_  provoked Butch into a fight?” Amata asked, disbelievingly.

“Well, yeah.  He did try and steal my sweetroll, though,” Liam said, meekly.

Amata wrinkled her nose in disdain, “God, he really is a butthead! Oh well. You can always count on Butch to make an ass of himself. Get it?” she laughed hysterically at her own joke.

“Yeah,” chuckled Liam, “I get it.”

Shortly after that, the intercom buzzer went off. Liam wandered over, seeing as he was closest, and held down the button to respond.

"Liam Brickly, diner. Ready to receive message."

"Oh, hey, it's Jonas. Happy birthday! Sorry I couldn't make it to your party. Listen, would you put your dad on?"  The blatant cheer of Jonas Palmer, his father's assistant, scratched though the speaker.

Jonas was James' best friend, and Liam had quickly become attached to him as a very young child. It was Jonas who had kept Liam entertained during long afternoons when James simply had too much work to do, and it was Jonas whom Liam told everything to, even the things he couldn't confide in his father. _Especially_  the things he couldn't confide in his father. Particularly his emotions about being treated as practically sub-human by the rest of the vault, as his father refused to sympathize with his son, instead encouraging him to simply "toughen up". Jonas was like the older brother that Liam had never had.

Liam turned to get his father, but found him to be already standing behind him. He side-stepped out of the way.

"Thanks. I'll send him right down," his father said into the intercom. Liam's interest had been piqued.

James turned to his son, with an unexpected excitement, "Hey, that was Jonas on the intercom. He and I have been cooking up a little surprise present. He's waiting for you downstairs on the reactor level. Go ahead, I don't think anyone will mind if you slip out for a few minutes."

"Okay," Liam responded, turning and exiting the diner. Not two steps away, he managed to bump into Beatrice Armstrong.  

Beatrice was sort of a slightly crazy aunt to all of the children of the vault. Kind, but very eccentric, Beatrice offered fortune telling services on weekends to bored vault residents.

"Happy birthday, dearie! My goodness, I hope I didn't miss the party!" she chirped in her usual sing-song voice.

"Thanks, Beatrice. It's right inside," Liam replied, politely.

"My, my. Ten years old already. Why, I can remember helping your dad change your diapers!" she exclaimed, pulling him into a bone-crushing hug that he hesitantly reciprocated. "And now, look at you!" She gushed, releasing him at last, "A great big grown up ten-year-old, with your very own Pip-Boy! Since this was such a special occasion, do you know what I did? I wrote you a poem! Just for you. I hope you like it."

Excitedly, she crammed a piece of paper into his hands, and walked off into the diner to join the party. Without looking at it, Liam folded up the poem and slipped it into his pocket. He then proceeded to trudge down the hallway and the stairs, making it halfway to the reactor level, before he heard a voice.

"Sounds like everybody's having a good time in there." It was Officer Kendall, one of the other security guards.

"Bah, I only showed up because Amata's friends with the brat," the voice of Alphonse Almodovar, the overseer and Amata's father, could be heard, "Give them a few more minutes and then I want that place cleaned up and everybody back to work."

"Sure thing, sir."

Liam wasn't at all surprised by the exchange. He was, however, irritated by it. Amata's father had never particularly liked Liam, or James for that matter, but he could have at least pretended for his daughter's sake. His attitude about her best friend, and most things in general, had led to a very strained relationship between Amata and her father.

Sighing sadly, Liam continued down the stairs. A moment later, however, he spotted Jonas, which brightened up his disposition entirely.

"What are you doing down here, young man?  I thought kids weren't allowed down on the reactor level," Jonas tried to play tough, but Liam could tell that it was clearly all an act, as Jonas couldn't help but crack a smile a moment later.

"You're not fooling anyone, Jonas," Liam remarked, approaching his friend.

"Okay, you got me," Jonas grinned down at him and tousled his hair, "If you can wait just one more minute, I think your dad will want to give you the surprise, himself."

Right on cue, Liam could hear James' boots clanging against the metal stairs.

"Are you ready for your surprise?" James asked, excitedly taking Liam's hand. 

"What kind of surprise?" asked Liam, playing along.  It wasn't common that his father did something so large for him, and he was both nervous and enthusiastic.

"The overseer gave you your Pip-Boy, and you're old enough to do some work. So I figure you’re old enough for this," he reached into his lab coat. What he pulled out made Liam's heart race: "Your own BB gun!  It's a little old, but it should work perfectly."

Liam didn't care how old it was, even with the deep scratches ingrained in the stock, and the condition being questionable, it was absolutely beautiful.

"How did you ever find something like this?" Liam asked in astonishment.

"Jonas found it down here. It was in pretty rough shape. Took us a good three months to find the parts to get it working again. You know how tough it is to find a spring that small?" James laughed, "Good thing Butch "misplaced" that switchblade of his."

Liam was both humored and taken aback.  It was incredibly unlike his father to take something that didn't belong to him. Particularly something that had belonged to a child.

"So, what do you think? Want to give it a try?"

"Here?" Liam asked, worried that his father had suddenly gone insane. Firearms were not exactly legal for average citizens to have. "We can't shoot a gun here!"

"We sure can't," James replied, "unless we want the overseer beating down our door. Jonas and I have found a place, though. C'mon!"  

So his father had remained somewhat sane, after all. Liam gave a sigh of relief, as he followed Jonas and his father through a door to their left. It was an old storage room, full of lockers and boxes that hadn't been touched for decades. To the side of the room, Liam could see a small target range that Jonas and his father had set up for him, made of old pipes and scrap metal, weighed down by piles of tires and cinderblocks. Liam was filled with excitement and gratitude.

"Well, what do you think? You can come down here and shoot any time you want!"

"This is so great! Thanks! Both of you!" Liam gushed.

Jonas and his father both beamed proudly in response.

Regardless of what Butch had caused, Liam had a fantastic day. A day that would continue without any more incidents. However, the dynamic between Liam Brickly and Butch DeLoria had shifted immensely. It was just that neither of them knew it yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There just seriously aren't enough Butch/M!LW fics out there! So, I've decided to post one of my own. Let me know what you think, as the chapters progress, please. I've never done a Fallout fic before.


	2. You Always Hurt The One You Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY! After 10,000 years I'm free! It's time to conquer AO3!
> 
> I'm so sorry about the lack of updates over the past year. I just got done having what has been indisputably the worst year of my entire life. 
> 
> Thankfully, that is over now. Thank you so much to all of the people who stuck with me, this story, and my other works. I plan on posting far more frequently throughout the Summer.
> 
> Thank you, again. You are all lovely.

“Hey, wait up!”

Liam turned around, grateful that the voice calling out to him was a friendly one.

“Amata! Hi! Headed to your work assignment?”

Starting at age ten, all vault residents were required to pull their weight, doing odd jobs after class, until their proper job placements came at age sixteen. If they were really unlucky during their standardized G.O.A.T test, they could be stuck doing some of those tasks for the rest of their lives. Young residents were assigned different jobs and partners, depending on the day of the week. It was Thursday, meaning that Liam and Paul Hannon had janitorial duty together, while Amata and Butch took on garbage burning duty.

“Yeah,” nodded Amata, “But I’m not going to the furnace, I’m coming with you.”

“What?”

Amata sighed as the two reached the storage closet, “Butch has just been getting on my nerves lately. So I asked Paul if we could switch assignments for today.”

“What did he do this time?” Liam asked, lowering his eyelids in instant annoyance at the mention of Butch’s name.

Amata wrinkled her nose in irritation, “I don't know. It’s like, every time we’re alone he starts bothering me about _populating the vault_.”

Liam felt his heart suddenly sink into his stomach. Amata continued, “I mean, I know _eventually_ we’ll all get paired up and have to get married. If we didn’t, we’d die out. But he has no right to continuously harass me about it!”

Nervously, Liam reached for a broom, refusing to look Amata in the eye. He didn’t like thinking about the eventual arranged marriages that would come in about five or six years. There were seven male and four female teenage vault citizens. It was obvious already that Freddie Gomez and Susie Mack had something going on, as Freddie was the only boy besides her brother that Susie really seemed to want to associate with. Christine Kendall was just plain rude to Liam, insulting him almost as much, if not more than Butch and his friends. Janice Wilkins was nice enough, but she never really said much. Liam didn’t really know her, and the thought of dating, never mind marrying her, made him quite uncomfortable. He knew that the only realistic option was Amata.

Amata and Liam had grown significantly since the birthday incident, and were now awkward, greasy fifteen-year-olds. A lot of things had changed over those past five years, but their friendship had not been one of them. Liam and Amata shared an incredibly close bond, attached at the hip and standing side by side against the abuses of their fellow youths, which had only made them stronger. However, that bond had proven to be a platonic one.

Spending the rest of his life at his best friend’s side didn’t sound so bad, really, and Liam could do worse than become the overseer’s son-in-law. However, the whole point of marriage in the vault was to produce children, and it was that part that Liam wasn’t quite so comfortable with.

_"Boys and girls have different parts. Right? And when a boy and a girl love each other…they, um…well they…”_

Liam remembered very clearly, the first, and only, time that his father had explained sex to him. The entire conversation had left Liam sick to his stomach. And not because of the act, itself. James had made the ordeal incredibly awkward, stressing the importance of both procreation, and, funnily enough, love. With so few people occupying the vault, Liam didn’t see how love could possibly factor into every, or even most marriages or pregnancies. Because of this emphasis on love, the idea of marrying Amata only stressed Liam out even more.

Liam wanted to be in love. His father had shown him the importance of it at a very young age, and he could feel a massive grandeur every time that James spoke of Liam's deceased mother. He wanted to care and be cared for like that so very badly. And while Liam loved Amata, he certainly wasn’t _in_ love with her, and he highly doubted that he could force himself to be. Likewise, Amata had never shown anything other than friendly affection toward him. There was something else that made the whole situation even more unsettling for Liam, though. Something that he had been aware of for years. He just wasn’t sure how ready he was to talk about it, yet.

“Butch...” came Liam’s soft voice, as he handed Amata a feather duster, “Is he trying to ask you out, do you think?”

Amata gave him a quizzical look, “Oh, God, no! He keeps asking when you and I will "shack up". It’s just gross even to think about, don’t you think?” The two headed off, up the stairs and toward the classroom to begin their cleaning.

Liam cringed slightly, not sure what to make of Amata’s words, “I don’t know, Amata. You make it sound like the worst thing in the world.”

"It is!” she exclaimed, perhaps a bit too loudly, as they neared the room, “Can you even imagine us getting married? That sounds so dumb! I mean, the idea of being with anyone…like that. I already have friends, why do I need a _husband_? And sex just sounds…boring and…kind of gross.” 

An unsettled look spread across her face, as they entered the classroom, and Liam couldn’t help but look disappointed. That was it. Amata hated the thought of being with him. He would die alone.

“What?” asked Amata, eyes darting over his features, “I mean, it’s not like-” suddenly her eyes widened in shock, and she took a step forward, “Liam? You don’t…you don’t _like_ me, do you?” 

She walked over to him and placed a warm hand on his shoulder, "Liam, I’m so, so sorry, it’s just that-”

“I don’t have romantic feelings for you, Amata,” Liam croaked out, “It’s just that I always figured you would choose me. No one else seems to have stricken your fancy, and we’ve been best friends forever….” He could feel tears welling up in his eyes. He was making such a fool out of himself. He was afraid of being alone and he desired to be loved so badly. But to expect Amata to love him when he couldn’t even love her back was so entirely selfish.

“Don’t be upset, please,” pleaded Amata, “I don’t mean that I specifically don’t want to marry _you_. It’s just that…there’s been something I’ve been meaning to tell you for a long time…I just…didn’t really ever know how.”

With that, Amata walked over to the door switch, pressing the button to seal the two teenagers into the empty classroom. Her urgency and nerves were apparent as she did so.

“Look, I know I’m going to sound crazy or stupid or whatever. I’m just starting to finally figure it out for myself,” Amata sighed, making her way back over to Liam and plopping down in one of the desks, frustration etched into her features. Liam was suddenly overtaken with a sense of worry. His friend had obviously been struggling with whatever this was for a while. He decided to take the seat behind her.

“You can tell me anything. You know that,” he said assuredly, any trace of his fear of loneliness replaced entirely with concern.

“I know. You’ve always been a good friend. I guess I’ve just been searching for a way to make heads or tails of it, myself,” she replied. “When I said I didn’t need a husband, I meant I don’t _want_ a boyfriend or a husband…ever. I don’t want one and…I think I’m incapable of falling in love...romantically.”  Her eyes flitted away away from Liam’s shining blue stare.

“Amata-” he attempted to reach out to comfort his friend, but she cut him off.

"That’s not all. Like I said, sex doesn’t sound appealing at all. It sounds like the biggest waste of my time possible. I mean…that’s not normal, right? Science says that my hormones should be all over the place and that I should find boys attractive. My body is changing! So, why not my desires? I…I think I’m seriously sick.”

The pieces all started to come together in Liam’s head.  _Of course_ Amata didn’t want to have sex. Liam had seen the signs fairly early on in their adolescence, and had neglected to take note; like when they had taken sex education at age 12. The class had been full of discussion, immature jokes, and nervous laughter, as they all attempted to connect the reproductive system to the feelings they had about one another. Amata, however, didn’t seem phased at all. Sure, she could talk about it in a calm, conversational way, but wasn’t quite the same as the others, with their uncomfortable giggles and comments. The massive amount of flirting and suggestive language that circulated the group of classmates never came from her direction, either. She always just breezed right past it, and was incredibly uncomfortable with any attention she got regarding her figure or anyone’s interest in dating her.

“Amata, you’re not sick,” Liam said, giving her a soft smile, “You’re most likely asexual.”

“Asexual?” Amata looked up.

“Yeah.  I read about it in one of my dad’s textbooks,” explained Liam, “It’s like…you don’t experience sexual attraction, and sometimes people don’t like sex at all, I guess? Sometimes people don’t like being in romantic relationships, either. It varies.”

The room went silent for a few moments, before Amata replied, “…Is it, like…normal, though?” her voice cracked.

“I think so. I mean, I don’t think it’s _common_ by any means. There wasn’t a lot of information in the book. But I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it.”

Amata let out a sigh and gave Liam a shaky smile, “I’m so glad. I just…I know not getting paired up isn’t an option. But it’s okay to not like it. It’s a thing…” she sighed again.

Liam blinked in surprise at Amata’s emotional response. The look of relief on her face made him feel so much less tense. That was, until Amata asked him a certain question.

“What about you, though? You’re not interested in me, but you seem set on us being paired together. I mean, I guess it’s the obvious option. But still.”

Liam’s stomach lurched, as a particular face flashed through his mind, and he immediately looked away from his friend.

“I’m sorry,” apologized Amata, “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

Liam sighed heavily. It was less of him not trusting Amata, and more of him not trusting himself.

Ever since they were children, Liam had been far too attached to Butch DeLoria. Since the birthday incident five years prior, the dynamic between he and Butch had become more of a rivalry, with Liam standing up for himself more and more, and he and Amata actually pulling off some of the pranks that they used to discuss only hypothetically. Losing Butch’s friendship at an early age was rough, becoming a victim of his constant bullying was horrible, but being his rival was far more enjoyable than Liam would have ever cared to admit. It meant that they spent time together.

Butch's gang, which he and company lovingly referred to as “The Tunnel Snakes”, were rather pathetic, really.  It was just Butch, Wally, and Paul; wearing dumb leather jackets with embroidered snakes on the backs, and fucking around.  They acted like they were larger than life, flashing switchblades with dumb smirks on their faces and making derogatory comments. Liam knew, though, that in the end they were just a bunch of angry teenagers, trying to stir things up.

In a way, Liam understood. Life in the vault wasn't exactly exciting. The lack of stimulation might have been a justifiable reason for the stress the three of them caused, if it weren't for the direct and violent targeting of he and Amata on almost a daily basis. 

Butch could do little, other than call Liam names, which didn’t bother him much. He usually responded with semi-snarky kindness, as Liam was very bad at being unkind. Luckily, Butch didn’t know what to do with Liam’s outgoing friendliness, so he got away with it easily.  

In recent years, the few times that Butch had tried to start a physical fight, he had come out with a bruised face. Even when he brought Wally or Paul along, Liam managed to dodge almost every attack. He was fast, and had learned how to land some pretty good hits. Needing to defend himself so often had its perks, it seemed. Butch doled out a lot of shit, but Liam didn’t take it anymore. 

The witty remarks, the bloodied knuckles: They binded the two. It made the pain easier to bear. Hell, Liam enjoyed the roughhousing every now and again. It beat being a little kid without equal footing, getting his nose ground against the floor every week.

Liam was Butch’s equal, and they both knew it, even if Butch would never admit it. With the exception of one or two close friends, nobody in the vault could stand either of them, and they were both strong, even if Butch looked it more, as Liam’s scrawny frame and short, tidy, ginger hair left something to be desired in the way of intimidation. The biggest difference was attitude. Butch had never been a particularly kind person, but he had gone out of his way to be kind to Liam when they were very young. 

Liam already knew some of Butch’s reasons for being so nasty to others, as he constantly had to protect his ego and his emotions, due to his insecurities about his mother’s alcoholism. That much was obvious to both he and Amata, although, unlike Amata, Liam never used that knowledge as a way to get under Butch’s skin. As a matter of fact, Liam felt sick to his stomach every time Amata mentioned it in Butch’s presence. All three of them had insecurities about their parents – their single parents, at that -  and Liam felt that Amata should have known better, no matter what awful thing Butch had been saying.

On top of all of that, it didn’t help that Liam so desperately _missed_ Butch. He missed his friendship, his smile, and his stupid comments. But that wasn’t all Liam missed, which is where problems began to arise. He missed the feel of Butch’s hand in his, he missed his warmth, the way his kindness and Butch’s cockiness just meshed so well when on the same side. He couldn’t help but imagine what it would have been like to be close to him, still. To have grown up loving the smell of hair gel and cigarette smoke, instead of getting nervous around it. To be able to joke about what an absurd name “The Tunnel Snakes” was, and get a soft, friendly shove, instead of an angry barrage of death threats. To be able to be at Butch’s side, just in general. The thought made his heart ache.

He couldn’t chalk all of those things up to simply missing a childhood friend. It was too much, and it hurt far too badly. Liam was in love with Butch DeLoria. How or when it had started, he wasn’t sure. However, he didn’t think he had the courage to admit these feelings to anyone, even Amata or Jonas.

“It’s not that I don’t want to,” Liam sighed, finally, “I just don’t know what to do with it, I guess.”

“What do you mean?”

Liam looked down at his feet for a moment and bit his lip, contemplating on how to give Amata an answer without revealing himself too much.

“I think…I think I kind of like guys. Y-you know…instead of girls.”  The statement was true enough, as Butch had been the only person he had ever been romantically or – as much as it scared him sometimes – sexually interested in.

Amata’s eyebrows rose, “I…wasn’t expecting that.”

Liam chuckled nervously, “I suppose not. It doesn’t matter, anyway. Two men can’t help populate the vault.”

“I suppose we both have problems when it comes to that,” sighed Amata, smiling sadly at him.

A few moments of silence passed between the two friends. Liam was grateful for the lack of judgement on Amata’s part, even if he knew that she wouldn’t be so kind if she knew whom it was Liam pined after. It didn’t matter, anyway. Not only did Butch hate him, but there was no future for two men in love in the vault, anyway. 

Just then, the door opened, with a metallic " _WOOSH"_.  Liam and Amata jumped, startled by the noise. The two looked over to see Paul Hannon standing in the doorway, looking uneasy.

“Hey, guys. Do ya mind if I join you?”

Amata blinked in surprise, “I thought you said you’d trade jobs with me.”

“Yeah, but...” Paul sighed, “Look, I’m not asking you to work with Butch; I’m just asking if I can work here. He needs to be…left alone right now, I think. He’s being weird…and kind of an asshole.”

Liam’s pulse quickened with nervousness at Paul’s words.

“He’s always an asshole,” Amata remarked.

“Yeah well, he’s got issues…he’s not being cool right now, okay?” grumbled Paul.

“I don’t care, Paul,” snapped Amata, sanding up from the desk, “You _know_ you can’t leave him alone. The rules are two people per job, minimum. The furnace is dangerous, and you could get into major trouble for abandoning your post!”

“You mean _you_ could get in trouble? It’s supposed to be _your_ post, after all,” Paul spat back.

Between the three Tunnel Snakes, Paul was easily the most approachable, even turning out to be a pretty nice guy when caught alone. His idolization of both Butch and Wally however, caused him to follow the every order of the two bullies, when in their presence.

“What do you mean, he needs to be alone?” asked Liam, ignoring the bickering. If Butch was driving Paul away, it meant that something serious was up.

Paul shot him a look of discomfort, “Don’t worry about it, okay? It’s…none of your business anyway.”

Liam’s jaw clenched, along with his stomach. He didn’t want to push the issue with Paul, lest his fierce loyalty to his gang rear its ugly head.

“Whatever. Let him burn garbage alone,” scoffed Amata, “Fine, Paul. Go get a mop and some water. We should be done sweeping by then.”

Paul nodded, silently, and rushed off to the janitorial closet.

“Hey, Liam!” smirked Amata, grasping her broom, “While he’s gone, I have a great prank we could pull on Butch and Paul. I saved it, just in case something like this happened.”

Normally, Liam enjoyed the simple pranks Amata threw together. Things that would remind the Tunnel Snakes that their main prey wasn’t so easily scared of their antics. Once, she had Liam pour a packet of Blamo Mac & Cheese powder into one of the shower heads of the boy’s locker room, right before Wally was scheduled to use it. He came out seething, and covered in smelly, orange water. Another time, knowing full well how terrified of insects Butch was, the two spent the afternoon making cutout radroaches out of cardboard, and snuck into his apartment when he had gone to the diner to pick up some food. Ellen, passed out on the couch, never noticed, as Liam gave Amata a boost, and the two taped the paper bugs to the inside of Butch’s light covers. The shrieks of terror could be heard all the way down to the reactor level. However, as pissed off as Amata was at Butch and Paul, Liam definitely did not think that pranking them would be appropriate, given the situation. There was something seriously wrong with Butch, and he was worried.

“When would we be executing whatever it is you have in mind?” Liam asked, hoping that perhaps it would take a couple of days to set up whatever she was thinking of.

“Tonight. It’s really simple, actually. Except we’ll have to sneak into their apartments. I’ll give you Butch, since it should be easier. Plus I want to get back at Paul, myself.”

Liam felt somewhat relieved. If the entire thing on Butch’s side was handled by him, perhaps there would be a way to execute it without causing too much distress.  

“Sounds good. So, what are we doing?”

“Putting Wonderglue in their hair gel.”

Liam buried his face in his hand, making an unhappy grunt.

“What? What’s wrong?”

“Amata, don’t you think that’s a little harsh, considering what a bad mood Butch is in? You know how he is about his hair,” insisted Liam.

Amata gave him a confused look, “What is up with you?”

Liam let out a gentle sigh, not wanting to give himself away. Maybe there was a way to make it work, “Nothing. You’re right. Let’s do it.”

“Okay!” smiled Amata.  The sound of Paul, dragging a swishing bucket of water with him could be heard from down the hallway. “Just meet me in the closet after this,” she whispered.

Liam nodded, as Paul entered the room. The three worked in near silence for the rest of the evening.

A couple of hours later, Paul dismissed himself. Liam and Amata thought nothing of it, as the majority of the vault had been cleaned, anyway. When they were done, they made their way to the janitorial storage closet, where Amata handed him one of two Wonderglue tubes that she had hid in the back.

“Wait until around midnight. Both Butch and his mom should be asleep by then,” Amata told him, before the two parted ways.

Liam spent the majority of the night, rolling the tube of glue between his hands, trying to figure out what to do. Should he just go to bed, pretend he had forgotten or had fallen asleep before midnight, due to exhaustion? Should he tell her that his father had caught him? An unlikely story, considering how heavy of a sleeper James tended to be.

While he was awake, however, James tended to be rather perceptive. As such, it wasn’t a surprise when he decided to ask twenty questions over dinner.

“Are you feeling alright, son?”

“Yeah,” Liam lied. 

“You don’t seem alright. Is there something that you’d like to talk to me about?”  James persisted.

Liam pursed his lips. He knew that it was no use, and that he would end up having to tell his father at least some of what had happened, if only to get him off his back.

“How was work, you never told me about that. You had janitorial duty, right?”

“Yeah,” sighed Liam, “It was fine. Except Butch has been giving Amata a hard time again, so she didn’t want to work with him. She traded places with Paul to work with me, instead.”

James’ eyebrows furrowed, “And you let her? Do you know how much trouble the four of you could have gotten in for that?” 

Of course, the possibility of pissing off the overseer was all he cared about. At least it changed the subject, however.

“It really wasn’t my choice, dad,” Liam replied, emotionless.

“I don’t care who’s _choice_ it was, Liam. You need to take charge in these situations, and make sure everyone follows the rules!” James berated.

Liam bit his tongue. He knew that it was far better than telling his father the truth of the situation. James scolded him constantly for the smallest of transgressions, to the point of punishing him for honesty at times. Letting his father into his life had always been hard for Liam and, despite being all that he had in the way of family, the two weren’t necessarily as close as they had been when Liam was a child. Liam was obedient most of the time, and the top of his class, but James had a talent for picking apart his only child, and very little was ever good enough for him.

Without much response, Liam got up and shut himself away in his bedroom, nervously flipping though the screens on his Pip-Boy until it was time to sneak off to the DeLoria apartment.

Lights out was eleven o’clock in the vault, and James made it a habit to go the bed half an hour before then, when he got the opportunity. So, when midnight drew near, Liam had no fear of running into his father. Quickly and quietly, Liam pocketed the Wonderglue, and managed to slip out of his apartment. Butch’s apartment was only down the hall from his, so it wasn’t hard to make it there.

Upon entering, Liam wasn’t surprised in the least to find Ellen DeLoria, passed out on the couch, bottle of vodka in hand, snoring away. Liam had always thought it was quite stupid, that key cards of some sort weren’t assigned to residents and security to get into the apartments, as just anyone could leave and enter freely. The geniuses at Vault-Tec obviously hadn’t thought that one over.

Liam’s hands began to shake, as he neared the bedroom door. He hadn’t gone in with an alternative plan. He couldn’t think of one. Reaching up to press the button that would open up Butch’s bedroom door, Liam took a deep breath and held it. What he found when the door opened, however, made him forget how to breathe entirely.

Butch DeLoria stared at him from his bed in surprise, cheeks red, and tears streaming down his face. He hadn't changed out of his vault jumpsuit or his leather jacket yet, and it was obvious that he had been in that state for a while.

Before Butch could speak, Liam quickly closed the door behind him and took a few hesitant steps towards him.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” hissed Butch, angrily wiping his arm across his face.

“I…” Liam had been caught red-handed and didn’t know how to respond. He said the first thing that came to mind, “I was worried about you." Technically, he was telling the truth. Liam _was_ worried about Butch and whatever he had done to scare Paul off that day.

“What? Get the fuck out of here, nosebleed. Before I get security,” The threat was halfhearted, as Butch clutched his blankets, eyes off to the side.

“Butch, Paul told me what happened,” said Liam, approaching the bed. Butch’s head snapped up, eyes wild, and suddenly full of terror.

“What did that traitor tell you, huh?  Because he’s lying!” growled Butch, “He just thinks…that…we need more people in the Tunnel Snakes! Yeah! The only person who gets to decide who’s in or out is me, got it, nosebleed? And there’s no way in hell _you_ could ever get in!”

“What?” Liam was taken aback. Had Butch and Paul actually discussed making him a part of their gang? That sounded unreal, and by Butch’s tone, Liam could tell that he wasn’t being completely honest. “Butch, Paul said that you had been acting strange. That you were having issues. That’s all. I wanted to know if you were okay. If there was anything I could do to help?” His eyes were soft, swimming with concern and heartache. It was just so obvious how much he cared, even to Butch.

Butch’s breath caught in his throat, and his jaw began to noticeably quiver. Liam’s heart broke at the sight.

“No,” he managed to whisper, “Just go away.”

“I’m not going anywhere, Butch,” said Liam, moving to sit beside him, “I’m worried about you. I can’t just leave you alone like this.”

Butch didn’t respond, he just looked down at his lap for a while, muscles tense in fear of breaking down.

“I don’t think you want to hear this; but I really do care about you,” Liam started, heart pounding, “I think it’s really obvious. Even if nobody else seems to pick up on it. I think that you know, though. Sometimes, at least.”

Butch’s shoulders noticeably stiffened, even more than before. He did not look up, however.

Liam continued, “I worry about you constantly. If you’re going to get hurt when one of the security officers drags you off to the overseer’s office, if you’re holding up okay with your mom." Butch gave Liam a warning side glance. That didn’t deter the red-headed vault dweller, however, “Look, Butch.  I know you don’t like it when people talk about it. But _she’s an alcoholic_. She acts out because of that sometimes.  _It affects you_.  _You get hurt_. And I -”

“Will you just shut the fuck up already, Liam?”  Butch snapped, shooting out of his bed and beginning to pace, “I get it, okay? You’re a good guy; you wanna make everybody happy all the time! I get it! But you can’t please everyone, you can’t _save_ everyone! You don’t get to ace every test, be super friendly to everyone, and play hero enough times until everybody likes you! Everybody _hates_ you!”

Liam's heart leapt into his throat, and he couldn’t help but crack a smile. Butch noticed.

“What are you smiling about, asshole?” Butch snapped, stopping to glare at Liam.

“You said my name.”

“…What?” Butch’s glare had turned from angry to confused.

“You said my name,” Liam repeated, “My actual name.”

“So?”

“I can’t remember the last time you used my name, instead of some dumb insult to refer to me,” Liam grinned.

Even in the dimly lit room, Liam could see Butch’s face turn pink. There were a few seconds of silence.

“You know, I was supposed to put Wonderglue in your hair gel,” Liam said, “But now I don’t really feel like it," he pulled the tube of glue from his pocket and tossed it to Butch.

“You little shit,” Butch couldn’t help but chuckle, as he looked down at the tube in his hands, “I shouldn’t let you leave here alive for that.”

“What are you going to do about it then?” asked Liam, lazily leaning against the wall.

“Nothing, I guess,” shrugged Butch, “You didn’t go through with it, so I guess I’ll let you off this time…Only this time,” he said, a slight teasing in his voice. There were a few more seconds of silence, this time far more awkward.

“So…” started Butch, “Was all that stuff you said…about caring about me…was that all because you got caught sneaking in here?”

Liam sighed, and ran a hand through is hair. He wished that he could say that it had been. But Liam knew how terrible of a liar he was.

“No,” he admitted, “I was genuinely worried about you after what Paul said. I still am. I always am, I think.”

“Why?” Butch asked, eyes soft for once, moving to sit beside Liam on the bed, once more, “I’m kind of a jerk to you.”

“You are. A real jerk,” said Liam, “But sometimes I can’t help but think of you as my friend.” Butch’s face then matched Liam’s, in a pained expression. “We were close once, you know….”

“But we were just little kids,” Butch gently reminded Liam, “That was, like, ten years ago.  It doesn’t matter anymore.”

Butch’s words were like a steel arrow through Liam’s heart. The friendship he missed so dearly meant nothing to the person he loved so much. His throat tightened until he was too choked up to speak.

“But that doesn’t mean that I don’t miss it...sometimes, anyway.”

Liam’s head shot up, bright blue eyes meeting Butch’s darker. They were brimming with tears.

“This is so stupid,” remarked Butch, rubbing at his eyes, “You wanna know what happened with Paul today? He told me that he likes guys. That he has a thing for Wally.”

Liam was taken aback. There was someone else in the vault, someone in their class even, who was homosexual. And a Tunnel Snake, none the less.

Butch continued, “I freaked out on him, called him a faggot, told him he was going to ruin the gang if he didn’t get his head straight. God, I’m such a piece of shit.”

Liam was speechless. Not only was Paul gay, but Butch was remorseful about being negative about it. It wasn’t anything Liam had ever seen coming. Things were starting to make sense.

“And…it made you think of me. Because I kissed you when we were five? Is that why you hit me?" Liam's voice raised in distress, "Is that why you’ve hated me for all these years? You were afraid of what people would think? Butch, we were five!”  He couldn’t believe what was happening.

“I know!” snarled Butch, closing his eyes tightly, “I know. But if I would have let it continue, who knows what might have happened? That kind of shit isn't allowed, man. We could have ended up-”

“Still friends without any of the major hurt we’ve caused each other these last ten years?” snapped Liam, angry that his life had been made miserable over the insecurities and poor judgement of a child.

“ _In love!”_ Butch cried.

“Wh-What?” All of Liam’s prior anger had evaporated as quickly as it had come. His heart slammed against his rib cage. If it beat any harder, he was afraid he would vomit.

“I loved you, I think,” whispered Butch, “I dunno. We were five. But it was something…like love, I guess.”

“Butch…Butch, you idiot,” and with that, Liam did the only thing he could think of: he pulled Butch DeLoria close, and held him tightly and desperately, as if the bombs were falling for a second time, and all they had was each other.

Butch melted into the hug, clinging to the back of Liam’s vault suit and burying his head in the crook of Liam’s neck.

“You know, we did actually talk about you becoming a Tunnel Snake, though,” Butch laughed, when the two finally pulled apart.

“You did?” asked Liam, only half-surprised at that point.

“Yeah. And Freddie, Jim, and Steve. But you’re the best fighter, my vote was for you,” Butch smiled.

Liam returned Butch’s smile, as the two saw each other in a new light. Liam didn’t know what any of it made them, or how much things would change when the next morning arrived, but in that moment, Butch DeLoria was his friend again, and that meant the world to him.


	3. Odd Diversities of Misery and Joy

“Jesus Christ, Paul! What the hell happened to you?”

Liam’s heart skipped a beat. It was Butch’s voice that he heard, coming from down the hallway.

Liam would have loved to have spent the night with Butch. It had been so long since he had simply felt his warmth, and he would be lying if he said that he hadn’t fantasized about sleeping beside the Tunnel Snake quite often. It had been around four in the morning when Liam snuck back to his apartment, exhausted but elated. He had held Butch DeLoria in his arms, and the two had spent the entire night up talking about the lost time they had spent pretending to hate one another. It had been the most wonderful night of Liam’s entire life.

There was one small problem, however.

“Something happened to my gel, man. Now my hair is all stuck together!” grumped Paul, desperately tugging at his dark locks, wincing in pain at his own touch.

Indeed, when Liam turned the corner, he saw Butch, Freddie, and Wally crowded around Paul. Paul, who looked as if his hair had turned into a handful of thick, limp quills atop his head, obviously a product of trying to pull his sticky hair apart. Liam stifled a giggle, wondering if Amata had seen how good of a job she had done.

“Did you try running it under water?” asked Wally.

“Yeah, man. I tried everything, short of washing it good. I didn’t have time,” replied Paul.

“What about you?” asked Freddie.

Liam’s attention switched to Butch. And what he saw made his stomach do flips.

“I was out,” Butch shrugged, “I’ll pick up more at the commissary after school.”

Butch’s brunet hair, free of product, hung around his face, messily. He smoothly ran his fingers through it for effect. Liam thought it quite suited him. What was more, was that Liam hadn’t been expecting Butch not to gel his hair. He had done so of his own accord, both so that Amata wouldn’t scold Liam for not following through with their prank, and so that the others wouldn’t question him about the possibility that he had caught Liam and not beaten him to a pulp.

“Ah, there he is!” Butch called out to Liam, much to his surprise. Excitedly, he sprinted the few steps that were between them and put Liam into a playful headlock.

“I have exciting news, nosebleed! You’re becoming a Tunnel Snake! You’re becoming…a man!”

“What...the…what are you talking about…?” Liam struggled against Butch’s iron grip.

Butch laughed, releasing him, “You and Freddie both! We’ve decided to let you in the gang. Isn’t that great?”

Liam could barely believe what was happening. Butch had agreed to lay off of him for the most part, and he had _mentioned_ that the Tunnel Snakes were _talking_ about recruiting. But he didn’t think that they would actually choose him, let alone so quickly.

“But I don’t-”

“What’s going on here?” The voice belonged to Amata, who was marching down the hallway, eyes worried. So worried that she didn’t even notice Paul’s hair.

“I’m…becoming a Tunnel Snake…I think?” Liam looked up at Butch, questioningly.

Butch flashed him a huge smile in reply, “You sure are! Never thought a loser like you would get the privilege, right?” Butch’s tone was teasing, but not unkind. Unlike Wally’s eyes, which glared at Liam with searing dislike.

“Butch, I’m not so sure about this,” Liam said, “I’m not really about terrorizing the vault for kicks, you know.”

“So don’t. You can do whatever you want. That’s what being a Tunnel Snake is all about!”

“Tunnel Snakes rule!” cheered Paul in response.

“Liam, there’s no way you’re going through with this, right?” Amata asked, giving the other four boys a weary glance.

“Of course he is!” responded Paul, overly enthusiastic, “Who wouldn’t want to be one of us? Tunnel Snakes Rule!”

“Shut up, Paul,” sneered Amata in response, “Oh, and nice hair, by the way. You do that yourself?”

“You shut up, Amata!” Paul snapped, “Go away. This doesn’t concern you, anyway.”

“I’m joining,” said Freddie, suddenly, “I think you should, too, Liam. It’ll be cool. People would probably like you more, anyway.”

“Thanks for that, Freddie,” said Liam rolling his eyes.

“Come on, nosebleed. We’d make a really good team. And besides, you pack a pretty good punch,” pleaded Butch. The complements settled nicely in Liam’s chest.

“You bunch are the only people he’s ever had to punch!” cried Amata, “I can’t believe this! Liam, come on, we’re leaving!”

“Hold on a minute, Amata,” Liam said, hesitantly. He wasn’t sure exactly what he was getting into. However, this was his chance, not only to get close to Butch again, but to rid himself of his near-friendless status of biggest vault loser.

“I gotta agree with the overseer’s little princess, here, for once,” input Wally, “Butch, what the hell were you thinking, bringing this guy in? We’re supposed to be the best, if you forgot. Not a band of nerds.”

“We agreed that we each could bring in one person,” Butch argued, “Paul got Freddie, you didn't wanna do any scouting, and I want Liam.”

Paul looked conflicted, as the two people he looked up to most argued.

“I don’t have to explain shit to you, Wally. He’s beaten the hell out of you enough times that you should want him on our side.”

“You’re actually going to go through with this?” Amata asked, her face riddled with disappointment.

Liam sighed, “Yeah, I guess I am.”

Amata pursed her lips in displeasure.

“Yeah! There you go!” grinned Butch, elbowing him, “Here, this is for you,” he handed Liam his very own leather jacket. Hesitantly, he slipped it on. Unsurprisingly, it was about two sizes too large.

“Don’t think this means I won’t ever question you,” Liam warned, sternly.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. You could, you know, thank me or something,” Butch replied, smarmily.

“Whatever. I’m out,” barked Wally, “Come on, guys.”

He, Paul, and Freddie slipped into the diner, probably to complain about the situation. Butch lingered.

“You…probably have some explaining to do,” Butch said, glancing over at Amata, who hadn’t moved an inch. It was clear that he hadn’t planned on her showing up to their meeting.

Liam nodded, stomach churning.

“I’ll catch you in class then,” said Butch, giving Liam a soft, encouraging smile. He then turned to the diner, before circling back again, as if he had forgotten something.

“Oh, and Liam?”

“Yeah?”

Butch then leaned over, placing a gentle kiss to his cheek. Right in front of Amata, without shame. Liam could feel the blood rush to his face, as his heart nearly burst with astonishment.

“I’m sorry. For everything,” and with that, the tunnel snake left to join the rest of his gang. Their gang.

“Spill.”

Amata glared at him with vexing hazel eyes. Head still spinning, Liam grabbed her hand, and quickly led her downstairs, to the reactor level, into the storage room where he went to shoot when he was stressed and wanted to be alone. She was the only person besides Jonas and his father who knew about it.

As soon as they entered, activated the door shut, and slid down the wall, sitting with his back to it, burying his face in his hands, still feeling the burn of his blush. Amata stood over him for several moments, arms crossed, expecting answers.

“Butch caught me last night,” he finally managed, “I think he was originally planning to have me lie to you, saying that he didn’t have any gel left to glue. But…”

“I caught him indoctrinating you into his stupid gang. Liam, what were you thinking?” she exclaimed.

“I was thinking that Butch and I could be friends again.  …I _missed_ him, Amata. I missed him so fucking much.” Liam clung to his new jacket, pulling it tightly around himself for comfort, “I’m sorry that I never told you. I just know how much you did for me when we were kids…to try and make it hurt less.”

Amata sighed, irritably, “I don’t want to see you get hurt again, you know. And those guys are bad news. You know that better than anyone!”

Liam didn’t respond. He couldn’t. She was right. Butch, Wally, Paul, and to a lesser extent, Freddie, had always been horrible to him. And it was clear that, no matter Butch’s intentions, Wally did not and would not want him. The entire thing was a disaster waiting to happen.

“There’s nothing that can be done about it now,” Amata sighed, posture relaxing a little, “Just…make sure that you don’t start acting like them, too. Maybe you can teach them a thing or two about being decent human beings.”

Liam looked up at her. Her face was stern, but loving.

“Thank you, Amata,” he said softly.

She offered him her hand, wordlessly. He gladly took it, and she helped him off the cold vault floor.

“And, I’m not going to say anything else about this, because it’s none of my business. But I did see Butch kiss you,” she remarked.

“Yeah, I…wasn’t expecting that.” Liam’s cheeks burned again at the memory.

“You should have punched him,” Amata said, a slight giggle in her voice.

“Yeah, I really should have, shouldn’t’ve I…” he chuckled, shaking his head, “It would’ve been fair, right?”

The two went upstairs, together, noting that school had almost started.

As the two entered the classroom, Mr. Brotch noted Liam’s jacket with an exaggerated look of exhaustion, but a hint of surprise. Liam was the star pupil of the class, after all. Him joining a gang didn’t really make a lot of sense.

Shortly after he and Amata had sat down, the rest of the Tunnel Snakes drifted in. Suddenly, Liam was enveloped in the sweet, perfumey scent of aftershave and stale cigarettes. A gentle pressure pressed between his shoulder blades, slowly tracing half of the embroidered snake on his back.

“You look good, nosebleed.”

The hair at the back of his neck stood on edge at the sound of Butch’s smooth voice in his ear. He almost let out a shudder.

“Let’s begin, shall we…” came Mr. Brotch’s tired voice, breaking the moment, “Now, as you all know, your G.O.A.T. test is only a short, five months away. With that in mind, I want to remind you all that the test _is_ mandatory…”  Liam could barely hear his instructor over the sound of his heart pounding in his ears.

“Hey, meet us in the diner after work detail, alright?” whispered Butch.

Liam nodded wordlessly, swallowing thickly.

 

That evening, Liam had dish cleaning duty with Christine Kendall. The task was mundane, as Christine and he didn’t exactly have the best of conversations when they did speak, which was rare. And so, it came as quite the surprise to Liam when she greeted him in a semi-friendly manner at the start of their shift. The reason for that, however, didn’t stay a mystery for long.

“So, I saw you talking with Butch today. You’re a Tunnel Snake now?”

"Yeah, I suppose I am,” replied Liam, handing her dishes to sort.

“Has he…you know…said anything about me?”

Liam’s stomach lurched, “Should he have?”

Liam was not aware of any sort of love interest Butch might have. Honestly, the idea had him incredibly jealous. Sure, he made passes at Amata, Janice, and Christine. He didn’t really seem to mean anything by it, other than to be an irritation, though.

“N-no!  I was just wondering is all!” Christine sounded overly defensive, as she hid her expression from Liam. So that was it. She had a crush. Too bad she wasn’t the only one. He stared down into the dirty dish water of the sink before him. 

It was something for him to think about, though. The fact that Butch could get paired up with one of the girls.  That he could fall in love with one of them. 

Sure, Butch had admitted to having feelings for Liam as a child. But they had been five years old. That did not necessarily hold true at present. And just because Butch had the capacity to have feelings for a man did not mean that he did not also have the capacity to have feeling for people of other genders. Even if it was only men that Butch was interested in, there were other options. Even other options that may reciprocate. 

Butch had kissed Liam. However, it was obvious that the kiss had been more symbolic than anything. A promise not to let his small insecurities get in the way of their friendship again.

He and Christine finished their shift in silence, Liam’s chest tightening in hypothetical disappointment and jealousy the entire time.

After their shift, Liam did as he was asked, making his way to the front of the diner. When he got there, only Paul and Freddie were to be found.

Paul hesitantly waved at him, his hair wet, but much less clumped together than before. He sat down next to Freddie, and the room was silent.

“Butch and Wally, are they coming?” Liam asked.

“Yeah. They’re…just late is all,” Paul replied, exchanging an uncomfortable glance with Freddie.

“They’re fighting over me being in the gang, aren’t they?” Liam sighed. It wasn’t surprising, considering how against the idea Wally had been.

Paul nodded, silently.

“Look, I get it. I’m not exactly Tunnel Snakes material. I can go at any time,” replied Liam. As much as he wanted to be close to Butch, and possibly be friends with Paul and Freddie, he didn’t think that breaking apart their friendships was worth it.

“You’re okay,” said Freddie, “And Butch seems really set on you being in, for some reason. I thought you hated each other though.”

“I don’t know that we ever really did,” Liam replied, rather vaguely. The answer seemed to satisfy Freddie, though, as he didn’t push the matter any further.

Shortly after, the sound of metal clanging and loud footsteps could be heard. When Liam turned his head, he saw Butch, standing in the doorway of the diner and wiping a thumb across his bottom lip. Butch then looked down at his hand, letting out an irritated scoff when he saw blood.

“Oh, God, what happened to you?” Liam bolted out of the booth and over to where Butch stood.

“Get offa me, nosebleed, I’m fine!” Butch shoved Liam away with one arm and moved to the booth. They both sat down and Liam handed him a napkin, hoping to be at least somewhat helpful.

“Wally?” asked Paul sadly, as Butch pressed the napkin to his lip.

“Yeah,” he spat, face contorted in frustration.

“I’m sorry,” Liam said, quietly, “This whole thing was a mistake. I don’t even know why you wanted me here in the first place."

“Don’t be stupid,” snapped Butch, “It wasn’t just about you, anyways. He thinks I’m " _being too bossy"_  and that I " _think I’m in charge of everyone"_.  Bullshit.”

“Wait, I always thought you were in charge, Butch?” Freddie questioned. Liam had been under a similar impression.

“No,” replied Butch, “We’re both in charge, okay. That’s the way it’s been ever since we started this gang. We’re brothers, and everybody gets a say. Me and Wally just get the final word.”

A few moments of silence passed. Paul stood, "I think I should go check on Wally. This isn’t good for us, and we need to figure something out.”

Butch looked up at Paul, knowingly, but let him go, regardless. After he had gone, Butch switched his attention to Freddie and Liam.

“So, we _were_ going to go through a little orientation for you guys. I _could_ just do it, myself, but I don’t think it would be appreciated, given the circumstances.”

Freddie stood up, “I’m gonna head off then, if that’s alright with you. Susie…wanted to meet up at some point today…so…”

Butch waved his hand, dismissively, needing to hear no more. Freddie left the two alone, in slightly shamed silence.

“What do you guys even do?” asked Liam, turning to Butch after Freddie had left, “Apart from making fun of people and harassing women and the elderly, I mean.”

Butch shrugged, ignoring Liam’s tone, “We just hang out, mostly.”

“Wait. You just _hang out_? When do you find time to do homework?” Liam asked, slight bafflement in his voice.

"We don’t. Jesus Christ, you really are a nerd, aren’t you?” Butch teased.

"Yes, I am, Butch. Exactly that. And I still don’t understand why you want me to be a Tunnel Snake so badly,” said Liam, giving Butch a hard stare.

“It means we get to hang out. That’s what you wanted, right?” Butch looked at Liam with questioning eyes.

“Is that what _you_ want, Butch?” The last thing Liam wanted was Butch spending time with him out of pity or regret.

“I don’t do anything I don’t wanna do,” insisted Butch, “I want this. I want you with me. That’s the way it should have been to begin with,” his tone was stern.

Liam didn’t know how to respond.

“Wally will get over it, okay? Don’t worry about him.”

"Let me take a look at you,” said Liam, changing the subject, “Your lip, I mean.”

“It’s fine,” Butch protested. Liam leaned over, swatting Butch’s hand away, and took his chin gently in hand. He turned Butch’s head slightly, so as to get a better look at the cut on his lip.

“It’s not bleeding much anymore, but it’s swelling pretty badly,” Liam noted, fingers tingling at the feeling of Butch’s skin, “I should probably take you to the clinic for some ice.”

Liam withdrew his hand and stood, Butch looked up at him, “You’re a lot like your dad, you know.” 

“I’m not,” Liam disagreed, somberly. He and James were nothing alike, as far as he was concerned. His father was so concerned with staying on the overseer’s good side that he couldn’t see past anyone’s smallest mistakes.

“You are, though,” insisted Butch, getting up to follow him, “You’re always looking out for people, and you try to do the right thing. Neither of you have ever taken any shit from me.”

Liam looked at Butch as they made their way, not quite believing the words coming from his mouth. He didn’t like hearing that he was like his father from anyone, let alone the person he had feelings for.

“It’s always been my favorite thing about you.” 

That, on the other hand, wasn’t such a hard thing to hear.

“Could stand to be less whiny, though,” Butch smirked at him.

“Hey! I could make you need two ice packs, instead of just one, you know,” Liam retorted, only slightly riled.

“As much as I’d love to take you up on that offer, it seems that we have arrived at our destination,” Butch said, slight laughter in his voice.

Indeed, the two were standing outside of the medical clinic.

The two made their way through the main clinic. They found it to be empty, and Liam rapped his knuckles against the door frame to his father's office. James looked up from his desk and gave his son a familiar, soft smile.

“You can come in, son.”

“I didn’t come alone,” Liam said, entering the room. 

Butch came in behind him, waving jauntily at the doctor, “Hey, Doc!”

“Butch! You’re face, what happened?” James asked, as he approached the two boys.

“Yeah, about that,” Butch said hastily, “Funny story, really. I was heading to the diner to meet up with the guys, when suddenly, I slipped on the floor. Must have been leftover mop water or something. Next thing I knew, I had busted my lip!”

James gave the Tunnel Snake a half-lidded glare, obviously not buying his story. He turned to Liam, “Did you have anything to do with this?”

“No,” replied Liam, trying to hide the bitterness in his voice at the suggestion. It wouldn’t have been that questionable of an assumption, he supposed, seeing as Butch had gotten an array of bruises and injuries from their scrabbles before.

“Well, at least I can tell that _you’re_ not lying to me,” James said, turning his attention back to Butch. “Since I suppose I’ll never get an honest answer out of you, we’ll see about clearing the blood off of your face and getting you some ice for the swelling.”

James walked over to the sink, wetting a cloth.

“Here,” he said, handing it to Liam, “Clean him up while I get the other supplies, please.”

James then made his way to his cabinets and pulled out some disinfectant and an ice pack.  Meanwhile, Liam did as he was told, taking Butch’s face in his hands for a second time, rubbing the rough cloth over his warm, bloodied skin.

“Stay still,” Liam insisted, as Butch fidgeted.

“Why is it I always get hurt when I’m standing up for you?” groaned Butch, quietly, resting his face in the palm of Liam’s hand. The redhead began to feel dizzy.

“I don’t know that Princess Rescue counts as standing up for me,” teased Liam, as he finished.

After James and Liam had dealt with Butch’s injury, the two decided to separate for the day, as it didn’t seem as if a lot of gang activities were going to take place, and Liam had insisted on making time to get a head start on his homework. However, the day had left him with an incredible stirring feeling. A feeling that would be keeping him up for numerous nights in the weeks to come.


	4. We Live In The Vault

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much to everyone supporting this story, both on and off of this site. I appreciate it a lot.

Much to Liam’s surprise, joining the Tunnel Snakes had turned out to be far more of a blessing than a curse. Even though Wally never quite forgave Butch for pulling Liam into the gang, he more or less accepted the situation without excessive complaint after a few weeks, and for the first time in years, Liam felt as if he had a place in the vault.

What Liam lacked in cocky attitude, he made up for in foresight. Butch had put him in charge of “scheduling” reckless gang activities, if one could call it that. Liam knew exactly when the best time to root around in the off-limit storage rooms were, and when bathrooms were typically empty, for optimal vandalism. It was all about memorizing the security routes, which wasn’t hard, itself. It had merely turned out that none of the other Tunnel Snakes had thought to do it before.

Liam got along fairly well with Freddie and Paul, who seemed happy to rid themselves of their hateful attitudes toward him. What was more, was that the attitudes of his peers had changed almost overnight. Christine was more than ready to converse with Liam at the drop of a hat, and even Janice, Steve, and Jim seemed to come out of their shells a little bit more around him. The adults of the vault were a different story, however.

Shortly after joining the Tunnel Snakes, Stanley Armstrong had pulled him aside, asking what a nice young man such as he was doing, running with a gang? Stanley had apparently thought that Liam was going places in life, and that it was going to all come crumbling down by spending time with “those punks,” referring to Butch and the others.

Old Lady Palmer had expressed her concern as well, claiming that it was “Alright to have some reckless fun now and again,” but that, “those boys” didn’t know when to stop.

His father, though he hadn’t said anything about the matter when he had brought Butch into the clinic while wearing his jacket, made his disappointment known the following morning. Not only was James upset with his son; he had been downright furious.

“I understand that sometimes it can be hard. You don’t feel like you fit in. But this is ridiculous, you’re giving into peer pressure. This is not who I raised you to be!”

The conversation had not been a pleasant one, with Liam trying his very best to explain the situation, and his father only getting angrier. The argument only ceased when Liam mentioned what Amata had said about him setting a good example for his new gang, as well as the fact that it meant that he would no longer have any problems with bullies.

And, indeed, Liam did put an end to the minuscule amount of damage that the Tunnel Snakes did. For starters, he refused to let them take food or chems from the storage rooms, although alcohol was fine. He didn't like to think of what might happen if the vault ran out of necessities. He also did a fairly good job of steering the gang away from Amata, who was normally their favorite target for sexual harassment and verbal abuse.

Overall, the Tunnel Snakes had been fairly docile to start. They got drunk, and they roughhoused, and they wandered off to forbidden areas of the vault. But really, they caused no harm. Liam barely believed that they qualified as a gang. He wouldn't have told anyone that in a million years, though.

A month and a half had gone by, and Liam was still conflicted about his friendship with Butch. The two had grown incredibly close, only igniting Liam's feelings tenfold. Only a week into joining the gang, he had decided to bring Butch down to see the target range that Jonas and James had gifted him at age ten. The gang leader had shown child-like enthusiasm about the reveal, gushing about how cool it was that Liam knew how to shoot.

“Damn, nosebleed! If I would have known that you were secretly this awesome, I would have let you into the Tunnel Snakes years ago!” Butch had said, as Liam squeezed the trigger of his BB gun repeatedly, hitting all of the targets in a row. He grinned in satisfaction at the soft, metallic clink the targets made when struck.

“Wanna try?” Liam had asked, offering Butch the gun.

Butch had never shot a gun in his life. That wasn't surprising, considering that they were banned to all but the overseer and certain members of his security force.

“Hell yeah, I wanna try!” exclaimed Butch, gladly taking the BB gun from Liam.

Liam had to bite back a giggle, as Butch attempted to get into position. Tucking the butt of the gun under his arm, and pumping the leaver once, he aimed it up, before shooting at the center target. He had ended up missing the target entirely, hitting the vault wall, instead. He grunted in discomfort, as the gun dug into his ribs with the kickback.

“Here,” Liam had approached Butch from behind. Butch's scent engulfed Liam's senses, sweet and bitter, causing the red-head's knees to slightly tremble, as he moved closer, “Bring your entire arm up, for starters.”

Butch's breath hitched, as Liam's hand made its way to the underside of his upper arm, lifting it gently.

“This way you have more leverage,” Liam said, his voice beginning to falter, “You've gotta aim straight, too,” he could feel the heat radiating from Butch's body, as he moved in, pressing his chest against Butch's back, delicately, “Use your left hand to pull the trigger. Use your dominant to aim,” Butch re-positioned himself, and Liam reached around him, gently sliding Butch's hand down the forestock by a couple of inches, “That bit of metal at the end of the barrel is the front sight. Use that and the back sight,” he tapped the small bit of plastic that stuck out of the top of the gun, “to fixate on your shot. You should be able to see the front sight through the back.”

Butch nodded his head, eyes hard on the center target, as he took a deep breath.

“There's gonna be some recoil, it's in pretty rough shape, so be ready for that, okay?” Liam said, voice barely above a whisper, as his nose lightly brushed Butch's cheek. At that point, Butch's scent had become remarkably intoxicating, and Liam knew that he would have to find a way to hide the lingering odor of cigarette smoke and cheap whiskey that was surely clinging to his clothing from the extended physical contact with his gang leader from James, later that night.

“Yeah. Alright. So can I pull the trigger now?” asked Butch, forcing his muscles to relax under Liam's touch.

“Yes.”

Although a little shaky, Butch had managed to aim the gun at the target properly, letting out an excited breath as the BB hit the target, proper.

After that day, the two ended up spending a copious amount of their time down in that room. Liam had allowed Butch into his safe space, and together they hid from the frustrations of life in the vault.

“So, you know, prom is coming up, right?” Butch spoke over the copy of “The Big Book of Science” that Liam had loaned him. While his poor grades would never have indicated it, it had turned out that Butch had quite the affinity for the sciences, particularly when it came to computers.

The muscles in Liam's shoulders went ridged, causing him to miss his shot, “Y-yeah? What about it?” He hadn't been expecting Butch to bring up prom. He had figured that he would attempt to get out of going, and leave it at that. Not that it would work, considering that prom was a mandatory event, by order of the overseer. Freddie, Paul, and Wally had all made it known that they wished to attend the event, while Butch had mostly shown apathy towards the ordeal.

“Are you going with Amata?”

“Not as far as I know,” Liam responded, turning the safety on and making his way beside Butch, sitting down on the floor. Liam and Amata really hadn't spoken of prom, and he had assumed that she would decide to go alone, if given the choice.

“So you're free, then? You don't have a date?”

“Yeah. Don't you?” Liam asked, stomach beginning to squirm with unnecessary jealousy.

“No,” Butch scoffed, “There's only four girls in our class, and they all suck, man.”

“So why bring it up?” Liam asked, squinting in confusion.

“I dunno...” Butch looked uneasy, and stared back down at the book, deep in thought.

“...Hey,” Liam leaned over, placing his head gently on Butch's shoulder, “Just because we have to go doesn't mean that we have to have dates.”

“You could be my date,” Butch said softly, laying his head on Liam's.

Liam sucked in a quick breath, eyes going wide, “W-What?”

Butch let out an immediate laugh, one that was a little loud for comfort. He sat up straight, and shoved Liam, lightly, “I'm kidding! Wow, you almost fell for that?” Butch laughed again, and Liam's heart sunk.

“It would piss the overseer off, though,” Butch added, “Might be worth it for that.”

“Ye-Yeah...um,” suddenly, a beeping sound could be heard coming from Liam's wrist. It was an alarm he had set from his Pip-Boy. He let out a sigh of relief, glad to escape the conversation at hand.

“I have to go,” he told Butch, pulling himself onto his feet, “I have to help Jonas around the clinic.”  James had been forced to make house calls over that past week, as Agnes Taylor had contracted a severe case of pneumonia. He had specifically asked Liam to help Jonas and to stay at the clinic that evening, in case of emergency, as he tended to his bedridden patient.

“For real?” Butch groaned, “You're such a goody two-shoes, you know that, Liam?”

“Sure do,” he grinned, walking over to one of the many lockers that were splayed across the room. He shoved his BB gun inside, turning around once it had been put away, “See you, Butch.”

“Yeah, yeah. See ya,” Butch said, turning back to his book, noticeably chewing at his bottom lip.

Liam could feel his hands trembling, as he made his way up the stairs from the reactor level.

With the exception of Jonas, the clinic was empty.

“Slow day?” Liam asked, making his way inside.

“You know it,” replied Jonas, who sat at James’ desk, going through test results on the terminal.

“I guess with a population as small as ours, the schedule doesn't exactly fill up every day,” Liam said, swiping his father's vault-boy bobble head from the desk and hopping up onto the examination table.

A comfortable silence settled in the room, as Jonas tapped away at the terminal's keys, and Liam repeatedly tapped the vault-boy's head. The toy stared up at him with blank eyes and an exuberant smile.

Liam's eyes turned to a framed quote on the clinic wall.  It had hung there ever since he could remember. There was a matching one in a picture frame in his bedroom: Revelations 21:6 - " _I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life, freely._ "  

His father was obsessed with the stupid biblical quote. James had claimed it was his mother's favorite. Liam had always figured that he kept it around, as a memento to her, as they had never been a particularly religious family. Perhaps his mother had been. Liam and James rarely got onto the subject of her, or their life together, which was probably the most prominent of reasons why Liam didn't know how to talk to his father about relationships.  

“Hey, Jonas?” Liam inquired, eyes echoing just how lost in thought he was.

Jonas looked up from the terminal,and spun his chair around to face Liam, “What is it, champ?”

“What was your prom like?”

The question may have seemed innocent enough, but Jonas knew better. He always did. The doctor's assistant let out a chuckle, “Well, it was small, I can tell you that much. There were only eight of us, including myself. There were five girls and three boys in my class, so getting a date wasn't very hard.”

“Who did you go with?” Liam asked, finally looking over from the bobble-head.

“Ellen DeLoria. She was quite the looker once upon a time, believe it or not,” Jonas said with a sad smile, “We never dated, though. My older brother, Joe, scooped her up six months later. They were really happy together, before he passed in an electrical accident. I think his death is what drove her to drinking, really,” flickers of sorrow and pity clouded Jonas' normally cheerful demeanor.

Liam blinked, as he felt the warmth in the room completely dissipate, “Does that mean...”

“That Joe was probably Butch's father?” Jonas replied, voice thick with gloom, “Yes. More than likely.”

Butch didn't like to talk about his family. He rarely discussed his mother. When he did it was always with equal parts sadness, love, and disgust.

It wasn't odd for Butch to show up in the mornings with black eyes or a bruised jaw. Never bloodied knuckles. Butch would have never laid a hand on his mother. The Tunnel Snakes knew better than to make remarks, and Liam knew better than to offer a shoulder to lean on in front of the gang. However, Liam would come to expect Butch to be on his doorstep later those evenings, while James finished up his final hours at the clinic for the day. And he would take him into his apartment, carefully draping Butch's jacket across the arm of the sofa, and helped him pull the top half of his vault suit down, dressing his wounds and running cold water and ice over Butch's heavily bruised face, neck, and shoulders, in silence.

Butch didn't like talking about his mother, but he didn't shy away from it every time. What Butch never discussed under any circumstances, however, was his lack of a father. Liam had always assumed that he had most likely run out on the DeLoria family. That didn't make very much sense, however, as there weren't exactly a lot of places to run off to in the vault. It was impossible that he had left the vault. No one ever had. No one ever could.

“Haven't you, you know, tried to reach out to them?” asked Liam, “You're his uncle, then.”

Jonas sighed, “I tried. But Ellen won't accept any help I try to offer. And Butch is...well he's Butch.”

Liam couldn't help but let out a bitter chuckle, “Yeah.”

“Your prom is next weekend, if I'm correct,” Jonas said, returning to the original subject of their conversation, “Any lucky ladies got your number?”

Liam let out a dismissive sound, “No.”

“Well, does Amata have a date?”

“You sound just like Butch,” Liam replied, “I don't know. I don't think Amata is really interested in dating me. Or finding a date at all.”

“Well why not?” asked Jonas, curiosity palpable, “You're a strapping young guy, and the two of you are really close.”

“No, Jonas. She's not interested in me like that. Trust me, I've asked. And I'm not really into her like that, either. She's kind of like my sister, you know?”

“Okay! Okay, I get it,” Jonas smiled, hands up in surrender, “So, if there's nobody that you _are_ going with, is there somebody that you _want_ to go with?”

“I would rather not go at all,” Liam grumbled, trying to deflect the question.

“Oh, come on, kiddo! You know what I mean,” Jonas pressed, “You know I'm not going to tell anyone. I'm just interested in what's going on. You've been kind of elusive since joining up with that gang, you know.”

Jonas was right. Liam hadn't spent nearly enough time with either he or Amata since his initiation into the Tunnel Snakes. His days had been completely taken over by school and the gang. And whenever he did manage to get a moment alone, Butch would be there, waiting. Liam adored his time alone with Butch. However, missing out on time with his other close friends made him both miss them, and feel incredibly guilty.

“I'm sorry,” Liam exhaled, “It's just...have two boys ever gone to prom together...or girls?”

Jonas blinked in surprise, “Liam...”

“Please don't tell my dad,” Liam pleaded, a massive spike of fear and adrenaline running through his body, “He'd hate me if he found out.”

“Liam,” Jonas repeated softly, moving his feet to wheel the desk chair closer to him, “Your dad loves you. He could never hate you.”

“But he wouldn't understand,” Liam retorted, “He'd be mad. He'd be mad that something about me doesn't conform to the vault's needs.”

“I won't tell him, I promise” Jonas reassured, “But believe it or not, your father isn't as perfect as he lets on,” he gave Liam an encouraging look. “Besides, you have more males in your class than females, right? The overseer might not care if you get together with someone. It's not hurting anyone or taking away from the population of the vault.”

“Yeah, right,” Liam sneered. “He'd probably see it as setting a bad example. Plus, if someone else doesn't pop out a baby boy soon, one of us will probably be expected to marry Monica Kendall,” Liam said, referring to Christine's infant sister.

Jonas gave him a pitied look, “So...who is it, if you don't mind me asking?”

Liam sighed, “Butch. It's always been Butch.”

Jonas took in a deep breath, “That's...not actually too surprising. Given your relationship and everything. You've been spending an awful lot of time together. Does he...feel the same?”

“I don't know,” Liam replied, somberly, “Sometimes I think so. But he's so hard to read. It's like he purposely draws me in and in and in, and then shoves me away at the last moment.”

Jonas gave him a sympathetic look, but said nothing.

“It would be so much easier if we were allowed to leave the vault,” Liam said, exasperated, “There has to be people out there! The war was 200 years ago. We wouldn't have to sculpt our ideals around surviving alone, down here. We'd have...freedom. Of some sort, at least.”

“Now _that_ is the kind of thing you don't want your dad to hear,” said Jonas, with gentle warning.

“I know, I know.  We're born in the vault, we live in the vault, and we die in the vault!” Liam replied, voice brimming with mock cheer.

Jonas gave Liam's shoulder a squeeze, with a clear look of confliction on his face, before returning to work.

* * *

Vault 101's prom was very unlike the dances held in the old world. There would be no high-class outfits or corsages. It was highly doubtful that anyone in the vault had ever seen a real plant, let alone flowers, in their lifetimes.

The atrium had been arranged to work as a dance hall, with lights dimmed, and blue and yellow streamers lining the walls in a lackluster attempt at decoration. The round window into the overseer's office was lit up, hanging above their heads as a reminder, daring the teens below to step a single inch over the line he had set for them.

Liam stood in the dark, leaning against the vault's sturdy metal wall, peering out into the dance floor. Paul stood about fifteen feet away, chatting up Janice Wilkins, who, although she seemed unsure, looked to be quite involved in their conversation. Jim Wilkins, Steve Armstrong, and Amata were having a very involved conversation. Amata appeared incredibly animated, as she explained something to the two boys. Not far, Wally and Christine were dancing together, Christine looking none too thrilled. Freddie and Susie were also slow-dancing to the smooth jazz song playing over the intercom. Unlike the other couple, however, the two were much happier, staring infatuated into each other's eyes.

“Hey, nosebleed,” it was Butch, shouldering up beside him.

“Hey! Where have you been?” asked Liam, happy to see him. He then noticed the purple swelling on his cheek.

“I'm fine,” Butch assured, noticing the look Liam was giving him.

“You always say that,” Liam replied, eyes soft.

Butch shifted uncomfortably, avoiding Liam's gaze. Instead, he looked out at his peers. Amata was accepting a dance from Steve, and Susie and Freddie stole a quick kiss as the song came to an end and a new one started up.

Then he saw him, Alphonse Almodovar standing in his office window. His face was unreadable, as he stared down, presumably monitoring his daughter, and watched the activity below.

Butch _hated_ Alphonse Almodovar. Shortly after forming the Tunnel Snakes, the overseer had come to him, offering him a deal. He had said that if they'd do some reconnaissance for him, he'd allow them to exist. Yeah right. Like one old man could take down the Tunnel Snakes. Still, Butch had agreed. What he hadn't known was that “reconnaissance” meant snitching on fellow vault dwellers who questioned the system.

Once, after his work assignment, he had run into Beatrice Armstrong. She had invited him to tea. She had dragged him to her apartment, despite his protests, and he had been greeted, rather awkwardly, by Stanley and Steve. She had insisted on showing him one of her poetry books, and as he boredly flipped through its pages, the theme sporadically changed between safety and praise of the overseer to being trapped by the lies of the vault. When Butch had reported his findings to the overseer, he had been exceptionally pleased. But the ordeal had made Butch feel dirtier than he would have liked, and he made an effort to avoid finding such information in the future, despite the overseer's warnings.

“Liam?”

Liam looked over at Butch, eyes wide, blue, and innocent.

“Dance with me?” he offered his hand.

Liam gave Butch a quizzical look, not quite believing the words he had just heard, “For real?”

“The overseer is watching,” Butch said, nodding upwards. Liam noticed the gaunt face of Amata's father in the window. “Come on.”

Cautiously, Liam took Butch's hand, and the sixteen-year-old pulled him onto the dance floor.

The music dropped into a slow, smooth song. The unique voice of Billie Holiday echoed through the atrium, as Butch took Liam by the waist. Of course, he would insist on leading. Liam didn't mind one bit, however, as they moved to the melody.

“ _This suspense is killin' me_

_I can't stand uncertainty_

_Tell me now, I've got to know_

_Whether you want me to stay or go_

_Love me or leave me_

_Or let me be lonely_

_You won't believe me, I love you only_

_I'd rather be lonely_

_Than happy with somebody else”_

Out of the corner of his eye, Liam could see Paul, gawking at the two of them in an odd mixture of shock and excitement. He glanced around, noticing that more and more of their classmates were beginning to stare.

“Don't think about them,” Butch murmured, eyes mischievous with the thrill of just how forbidden what they were doing was, “Look at me.”

Liam obeyed, gazing steadily into Butch's dark blue eyes. The entirety of his insides seemed to be melting, as the older boy pulled him closer, wrapping an arm around his torso.

_“You might find the nighttime_

_The right time for kissin'_

_But nighttime is my time_

_For just reminiscin'_

_Regrettin' instead of forgettin'_

_With somebody else”_

Liam prayed that the burn he felt in the depths of his chest wasn't giving itself away on his face.

“You look nervous,” Butch commented, smirking wryly.

“I'm not,” Liam lied.

“Whatever you say, nosebleed.”

_“There'll be no one_

_Unless that someone is you_

_I intend to be independently blue_

_I want your love_

_But I don't want to borrow_

_To have it today to give back tomorrow_

_For your love is my love_

_There's no love for nobody else”_

“Do you think the overseer is going to come down here?” Liam asked, worriedly. The last thing he wanted at that moment was a lecture.

“God, I hope so,” laughed Butch, looking up to the window. The overseer was still there, but glaring disapprovingly.

_“There'll be no one_

_Unless that someone is you_

_I intend to be independently blue_

_I want your love_

_But I don't want to borrow_

_To have it today and to give back tomorrow_

_Your love is my love_

_There's no love for nobody else”_

Butch unwound himself from Liam as the song ended, but continued to grasp his hand. Liam looked across the room, meeting Amata's gaze. She gave him a knowing, but fearful look. He desperately wished that he could snag a few moments alone with her. However, Butch had other plans.

“Hey, wanna blow this joint?” he gave Liam's hand a squeeze.

“Right now that sounds like the best thing in the entire world,” Liam replied, unable to stomach the attention any longer, “Let's go.”

With the eyes of half of the vault following them, Butch and Liam exited the atrium, hand-in-hand. Originally, Butch had wanted to go down to the reactor level. Liam rejected the idea, noting that security would find out about the target range if the overseer decided to send someone after them. Instead, Liam took Butch to his apartment. There was little fear of James walking in on them, as he had known plans to spend the night holed up in his office.

“Did you see the look on that bastard’s face?” exclaimed Butch, as he flopped down on the Brickly’s sofa.

“Yeah, and everybody else’s,” Liam chided, gently. He began rummaging around in cabinets and drawers for some ice, bandages, and numbing cream.

“I’m not sure how much I care about that,” Butch smirked, leaning back, lazily.

Liam stood up, holding the medical supplies, “You sure about that?  Butch, you do realize that there’s more than the overseer’s mood at stake, right?”

“What?  You think my reputation can’t handle it?” Butch asked.

“Do _you_?” Liam stared at him, with complete seriousness.

Butch sighed. Liam made his way over, sitting down beside him. Silently, Butch rolled up his left sleeve, revealing another bruise on his wrist. Liam gingerly took Butch’s hand, applying the numbing cream to Butch’s skin and wrapping his wrist with care.

“I’m not afraid, though. You know? Not anymore,” Butch said, softly, “Too much has happened.”

“Not afraid of what?” Liam looked up from his task. Butch’s eyes glittered in the false light with adoration and nerves.

“You know already, Liam.”

Liam held his breath, his mind racing. His chest threatened collapse, “I need you to say it.”

Slowly, Butch took Liam’s face in his hands, and leaned in until their lips met. Liam couldn’t help but let out a soft gasp and a shudder as Butch kissed him.

“I love you, okay? I’ve always loved you. You gotta know that,” Butch said, smiling softly at him.

Liam looked down, hiding his smile, heart pounding and blush spreading over his face. He tried to speak, but nothing came out.

“Besides,” Butch continued, “We’re Tunnel Snakes. Breaking the rules is kind of our thing.”

Liam let out a chuckle, “I suppose it is, isn’t it?” He looked back up at Butch, “I love you, too, Butch.”

“Of course you do. No one can resist the charms of the Butch-man,” Butch grinned.

Liam rolled his eyes, as he leaned in for another kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song is Billie Holiday's version of Love Me Or Leave Me.


	5. Future Imperfect

Liam felt as if his intestines were being eaten from the inside out.

“As far as I can tell, you're a perfectly healthy sixteen-year-old boy. So yes, you have to go to class to take your G.O.A.T. exam,” James insisted, glaring at his son.

Liam cringed, as he sat on the examination table, “I’m not kidding, dad. I really do feel sick.”

“But you’re not,” sighed James, exasperated, scratching at his steadily graying stubble, “You'll do fine. It's not so bad. Everyone has to take it when they're sixteen. I had to, you have to, and so does everyone else. Most people make it out without a scratch.”

“Tell that to Mr. Brotch when I throw up on him,” grumbled Liam, stomach churning as he hopped down from the table.

“It’s just nerves, son. You’ll get over it,” replied James.

Liam sighed, shoulders slumping slightly, “Well, got any tips, then? You went through it, too.”

An uncomfortable look crossed James’ face, “Well, everyone here in the vault takes it when they're sixteen. Helps to figure out what sort of job you'll have when you get a bit older. So, pay attention and try not to fall asleep.”

“That’s all you’ve got?” asked Liam, hesitantly.

James shrugged, “You know what the overseer says: We're born in the vault. We die in the vault. Each is tested to determine their abilities, that they may work for the betterment of all vault residents. Sound familiar?”

Finally, the day that Liam and his classmates would take the long-awaited Generalized Occupational Aptitude Test had come. Liam had been overwhelmed by anxiety over those past few days. Nothing either Butch or Amata did could calm him. 

Butch had taken to simply holding him, while Amata attempted to force lively, non-school, non-occupational conversation on him. As great as it was to see them work together, even if it was only a temporary arrangement, it didn’t really help, as thoughts of his very near future crept up on him. Would he be damned to live his life as a garbage burner? Or forced to work under his father’s judgmental gaze in the clinic? It didn’t matter. Because, as terrifying as those thoughts were, the thing that really scared Liam was the impending permanency: The idea that he was so very close to doing one singular job, and serving the vault for the entirety of his short life. He had always known that there was nowhere to go and no other life. But, he was beginning to feel more and more trapped, as the date of the G.O.A.T drew near.

Liam swallowed, nervously, “Do we have to die in the vault? Can't we _ever_ leave? I mean, we have to be able to leave someday if we choose, right?” He knew how ridiculous he sounded. But he was desperate for something – anything – that would give him the illusion of freedom.

“That’s not the way it works!” James snapped, suddenly taken aback by his son’s words, “And it won't do to go around asking questions like that! Especially not around the overseer.”

“But dad-”

“I want to tell you something now. It's important, so listen closely,” James cut him off, and roughly placed both of his hands on either of Liam’s shoulders, giving him a hard squeeze and staring directly into his eyes, “This place, this vault... it's not perfect, I know. But it is your home. You're safe here. Stay on the overseer's good side, and you always will be. You understand? You need to appreciate all you have. Because, what's up there, on the outside, that's not the life I want for you. And it's not what your mother wanted for you, either.”

Liam felt sicker than ever.

James let go of his son and took a step back, smiling gently, “And so! Time for you to stop stalling and get to class! Please, son, take these achievement tests seriously. The last thing I need is your mother's ghost haunting me because her only child became a garbage burner.”

Liam didn’t really appreciate the joke, but he turned heel to exit his father's office nonetheless, staring hard at the ground. Halfway through his trek through the clinic, he slammed into something solid. He had run directly into Jonas.

“Careful, there, buddy!” Jonas greeted, chipper, “Stopped in to see the old man before class, eh?”

“Yeah, something like that,” Liam replied, stepping back, embarrassed.

“It's been a while since you stopped in here to see us,” Jonas said, with a smirk, “Word is that you’ve been a little _busy_ lately, yeah?”

Liam felt his face heat up. His relationship with Butch wasn’t a secret by any means, Butch had made sure of that from day one. Still, any indication of it from an outside source, that he was in fact dating Butch DeLoria, never ceased to fill his chest with warmth and his stomach with a pained fluttering.

Jonas laughed good-naturedly at the expression on Liam’s face, “I know your dad hasn’t talked to you much about it, but _personally_ ,” Jonas lowered his voice to a whisper, and he leaned over slightly, as to not be overheard, “I think he’s secretly really happy for you.”

Liam gave Jonas a slightly baffled look, as he straightened up. James had come back very late, the night of prom, to find Liam and Butch intertwined on the sofa together, fast asleep, with his son’s head resting comfortably on the young DeLoria’s chest, with a tender, content look on his face. It wasn’t a look that James got to see very often. He had decided to leave the two be, retiring for the night with a lot of questions, only one of which he had asked the following morning, over breakfast.

“Are you and Butch…is it romantic?”

“Yes,” Liam had admitted, nervousness clear in his voice.

“The overseer isn’t going to like it.”

“I know. But I’m willing to take that chance,” Liam had replied, attempting to remain firm.

“Alright, then.”

They hadn’t spoken of it since.

“Anyway, it’s the big G.O.A.T. day today, right?” asked Jonas, “I should let you go, wouldn’t want you to be late. Good luck, buddy!”

“Yeah.  Thanks, Jonas,” Liam replied.

The classroom wasn’t far from the clinic, and it wasn’t long before Liam heard Amata’s voice:

“Get out of my way, you stupid Tunnel Snakes!”

Liam looked around in alarm, before spotting her next to the classroom, surrounded by Butch, Paul, and Wally.

“No, Amata! This is total bullshit and we’re not letting you get away with it this time!” It was Butch, blocking her way to the classroom.

“Guys!” Liam called out, dashing towards the group, “What the hell is going on?”

“Liam!” Amata sighed in relief, “Maybe you can talk some sense into these immature assholes?”

Liam looked over to his gang. Butch groaned, “What are you doing here?”

“Going to take my exam, same as everyone else,” Liam replied, “Why are you guys harassing Amata? Butch, you promised-”

“Butch doesn’t get to make those kinds of promises, and you know it,” Wally snapped, “This bitch has been talking too much. Told her daddy about the store raids we’ve been doing.”

“You can’t just _take_ stuff!” Amata growled, “The vault _needs_ those supplies!”

“We don’t take anything important,” Liam insisted, “It’s mostly whiskey and cigarettes. Nothing vital.”

“That’s _contraband_ for kids our age, Liam!  None of you should be drinking or smoking,” Amata responded, glaring at her friend in disbelief.

“I know that,” Liam sighed, “But it’s not really any of my business what the other four do. It’s not hurting anything, Amata.”

“So what? You’re just going to let them push me around, then?” asked Amata, angrily.

Liam turned to Butch, “I mean, telling on us is lame, but did she really do something _that_ bad?”

Butch sighed, “It’s not as simple as that. We – _I_ – had a deal with the overseer. The gang was supposed to spy on people and in return none of the officers would bother us.”

Liam looked back at Wally and Paul, surprised by this new revelation, “Did either of you know about this?”

“No,” replied Paul, sounding both dumbfounded and a little hurt, “Butch, why didn’t you tell us?”

“Because we ain’t rats, alright? I only did what he wanted once. Never again,” Butch spat, “We’re the Tunnel Snakes, and we don’t need the overseer’s protection! But it makes it a lot harder to stand our ground when Miss Bitch-and-a-Half starts running her mouth around daddy!”

Wally stared hard at Butch for a few moments, “We’re done here.”

“What?” Butch looked to him in surprise, “Done? We're not done! I say when we're done!”

“Don't know who put you in charge. You can’t even be honest with your own gang,” Wally replied, angrily. “I say we're done. Let's go, Paul.”

Paul swung his head around to look at Wally, “A-Are you sure?” he asked, hesitantly. 

Wally turned to leave on his own, without a response.  

“Butch?” Paul shot Butch an apologetic expression. Butch looked away, holding back an outburst. Paul sighed, turning back to Wally, “Um... okay. Whatever you say, Wally,” he sadly trudged into the classroom after his friend.

“Butch…” Liam placed a hand on Butch’s shoulder. 

Butch’s tense muscles softened at Liam’s touch. He let out a long breath, and pinched the bridge of his nose, “I can’t believe that just happened.”

Slowly, Liam wrapped his arms around Butch, leaning his head against the back of Butch’s shoulder, “You should have told us sooner.”

“I wasn’t planning on telling anyone at all,” huffed Butch, leaning into Liam’s arms.

“Why would my father need you to spy on people, anyway?” asked Amata, still riled, “It doesn’t make sense.”

“I don’t think we have any loyalty inspectors left,” Liam replied, as he let go of Butch, “I think the last one died when we were, like, eight.”

“ _Loyalty inspectors_ ,” Butch snarled, “Everything in this fucking place is so tightly controlled and everyone in it is so brainwashed. What the fuck do we need loyalty inspectors for? Your dad sure is a paranoid old geezer, you know that, Amata?”

Amata stayed silent.

“Look, girly, I don’t know if you understand just how shitty everything is down here. I don’t even know if you care. But if you keep going to your daddy with every little thing we do, there are going to be consequences. And they ain’t comin’ from us, either,” Butch said, venom unlike what Liam had ever heard in his voice. “You think security is tough now? Just wait. They’ll come after Liam and me for bein' together, they’ll come after Beatrice for all of the random shit she spouts. Because, really, it’s treason. And they’ll come after _you_ , Amata. Because, if you don’t stay in line like a good girl, not even your daddy will spare you.”

“Butch!  Can you even hear yourself right now? You sound crazy,” Amata retorted, eyebrows furrowed.

“Not as crazy as your dad,” Butch replied, coolly, “Keep talking. You’ll find out soon enough.”

Liam looked back and forth between the two. Butch had just vocalized so much of what Liam had felt over those past months. His father had insisted on the security and safety of the vault at all times. But it _wasn’t_ safe. Not really. The place was a ticking time-bomb.

Butch looked over to Liam, “Come on. You don’t want to be late for class. It’s not your style.”

“Butch,” Liam glanced to Amata, who was ghostly pale, a sickened expression on her face, “I’m going to take a couple minutes. Go on without me, okay?”

A hurt look crossed Butch’s face, “Fine. Whatever. Do what you want.”

“Hey,” Liam took Butch’s hand in his, and leaned up to press a kiss to his forehead, “You’re right. Don’t think that I doubt you for one moment.”

Butch’s expression softened, before he shook his head and smiled at his boyfriend, “Man, this is so gay. I’m outta here.”

“I love you,” Liam called, softly, as the two parted ways.

“I love you, too, nosebleed.”

Liam heard Amata let out a shaky breath, as Butch disappeared into the classroom, “Are you alright?” he asked.

“I don’t know what you see in him,” Amata said, voice cracking slightly.

“Amata…what they did…it wasn’t okay to gang up on you like that. But he’s not wrong. Things don’t feel right. And if your dad really is spying on people…”

“Do you think he would really do that, Liam?” she asked, in a bitter tone, “He may be a hardass sometimes, sure. But he cares about what’s best for the vault. He wouldn’t harm his people.”

Liam shook his head, but didn’t speak. She wasn’t ready to see the truth, and he wasn’t ready to start an argument with his best friend.

“We should go,” Amata said, finally. Liam nodded, and followed her into the classroom, left to wonder exactly what was going on in her mind. He had a bad feeling.

Liam made his way to the front of the room, taking his usual seat in front of Butch, locking eyes with him before sitting down. Butch reached over, giving his arm a comforting squeeze before Mr. Brotch began to pass out their tests, “It’s gonna be okay, Liam. I promise,” Butch whispered, “No matter where you end up, I’m always going to be around to back you up.”

Liam glanced over to see Paul, giving the two of them a tense thumbs up, as Wally looked down, nose practically touching his desk.

“Tunnel Snakes Rule?” Liam gave both Paul and Butch a sad smile. It was probably the first time in his months with the gang that he had stated their mantra out loud, without some sort of sarcasm.

“Tunnel Snakes Rule,” Butch repeated, with a firm nod.

Suddenly, the sound of nervous whispering could be heard, as two teenagers stumbled into the room. It was Freddie and Susie, late for class. Freddie, whose dark hair was normally perfectly groomed, was an absolute mess. The deep red color of their faces and swollen lips gave them away completely to the class.

“Mr. Gomez, Miss Mack.  Good of you to finally join us,” Mr. Brotch commented, dryly, “Would you mind telling me _why_ you’re so late?”

Freddie opened his mouth to speak, but Mr. Brotch cut him off.

“On second thought, I don’t want to know. Take your seats, please.”

The two teens obeyed, as snickers and murmurs echoed throughout the room.

“Well, now that everyone has managed to find the classroom, we can finally get started,” Mr. Brotch sighed, standing at the front of the room, “No talking, and keep your eyes to yourselves.”

“I’m pretty sure Freddie and Susie are gonna have some trouble with that,” Butch whispered to Liam, letting out a chortle, “I might, too, actually…”

“Yes, I'm talking to you Mr. DeLoria!” Mr. Brotch snapped, before Liam could make any sort of comment in return.

“Sure thing, Mr. Brotch!” Butch giggled in the worst of feigned innocence.

“Now, unless anyone else has an insightful comment, let's get started.”

One by one, Mr. Brotch read off the test questions. And one by one, Liam filled in the bubbles that correlated with his choices. He tried his best to answer each question honestly, but in the end, every answer would be wrong, regardless. Every scratch of his pencil pulled him closer to the inevitable. By the time it had begun, it had ended. The air was utterly tense by the time Mr. Brotch called for pencils down.

Wally was the first to get up, tossing his test onto Mr. Brotch’s desk and turning to storm out.

“Don't you want to find out what you got?” Mr. Brotch called after him.

“Nah,” he dismissed, “I already know what it says. Hardly takes a rocket scientist to crack that joke of a test,” and with that, he was gone.

Liam’s hands were shaking when it was his turn to hand over his paper.

Mr. Brotch sighed, joylessly, as he looked over Liam’s results, “That’s a shame. You really would have done well as a technician or tattoo artist.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Liam yelped, anxiety beginning to set in. Being a technician wouldn’t have been so bad, in his opinion. Being a tattoo artist seemed strange. He had never heard of there being such a position in the vault before. But, regardless, if he hadn’t gotten the job he was best suited for…

“You’re going to be in security, Brickly. The overseer hand-picked you. You, uh, probably didn’t even need to take the test at all…but formalities and all…. Anyway, congratulations on your new post! I’m sure one of the officers will stop by your apartment and get you ready for training in the upcoming weeks.”

Liam’s heart sank. The overseer had _hand-picked_ him? The overseer couldn’t stand him. 

He nodded, solemnly, and stepped back to let Christine, who was next in line, step up to the desk. Moving to the far wall to wait for his friends, Liam groaned. He couldn’t believe what had happened. He squeezed his eyes closed, mind reeling.

Liam stood like that for a while, trying his best to figure out why the overseer would want him in security. 

“Pssst, Liam!” It was Freddie, still sitting at his desk, a couple of feet away.

“Yeah?”

“I can't figure out number five. First I think I should listen to my grandmother. But then, isn't killing someone wrong?”

Liam couldn’t help but chuckle at his friend’s density, “There is no wrong answer, Freddie. Put down what feels right.”

“I mean, I guess I could kill someone if there was a good reason,” Freddie mused, “But there isn’t a reason given.”

Just then, their conversation was cut through by an excited voice, “Yo, teach! I’m done!” It was Butch.

“Ah, Butch,” Mr. Brotch sighed, smugly, leaning back in his chair, “Can I admit that I've been waiting for this day for a long, long time? Allow me to savor the moment. Now then, let's see...”

Butch crossed his arms, irritated, as their teacher looked over the results of his test.

“Hmm... Really? ... Interesting....”

“Come on, Mr. Brotch, what does it say?” Butch groaned, impatiently.

Mr. Brotch gave a huge smirk, “You've surprised me, Butch. I didn't think you had it in you. Hairdresser! Who would have thunk it?”

“You're so full of it! That isn't true!”

“Oh, but it is, Butch. The G.O.A.T. never lies,” Mr. Brotch replied, grin only getting wider.

Angrily, Butch stormed away from the desk, shoving right past Liam and Freddie and out into the hallway.

“Hey, I’ll meet up with you, Paul, and Wally after lunch, okay?” Liam told Freddie, turning quickly to follow Butch out of the classroom.

Freddie nodded, looking on with concern.

“Butch!” Liam called, dashing through the hallway after him. After a few moments of searching, Liam eventually found him in the men’s restroom, sitting against the wall, knees curled against himself.

“There you are,” Liam sighed in relief, “What are you doing in here?” He sat down beside his boyfriend, reaching over to brush a stray lock of hair back into place.

“There’s no way I’m gonna be a fucking hairdresser!” Butch growled, looking to Liam with angry eyes.

“What did you want to be?” Liam asked.

“Shit, man, I don’t know…Pip-Boy or terminal programmer, maybe…or…I don’t know. But even a burger flipper would have been better than hairdresser! It’s so…girly,” Butch wrinkled his nose in disdain.

“I don’t think so,” Liam retorted, “I mean, style is one of our trademarks as Tunnel Snakes, right?”

Butch raised an eyebrow, “You really think being a hairdresser adds to badass gang cred?”

“You do take awful good care of your hair,” Liam chuckled, “Besides, it’s not like you have to call yourself a hairdresser.”

Butch sat there, pondering Liam’s words for a while, “…You’re right,” he admitted, finally, “This ain’t so bad. I mean, everyone in this vault probably wants to look like me anyway. Now I get ration coupons for making their dreams come true. You’re pretty smart, you know?”

“Isn’t that why you fell in love with me?” Liam smiled, mischievously.

“No way,” Butch grinned back, “I fell in love with you because you’re fucking gorgeous. That, and you always have my back.”

“Yeah, okay,” Liam laughed, scooting closer and pressing his lips to Butch’s. Butch returned the kiss enthusiastically, gently threading his fingers through the hairs at the back of Liam’s head.

“Mmm, you know, I’m not supposed to meet up with Amata for lunch for another hour…” Liam said, as the two broke apart.

“Yeah?” Butch smirked, pressing his forehead to Liam’s, “Are you tryin’ to suggest something?”

“Perhaps,” Liam replied, pulling Butch in for another kiss, this time far more forceful. Liam could feel Butch’s playful expression against his face, as he carefully nipped at the gang leader’s bottom lip. Butch responded in turn, parting his lips and allowing Liam in, as their display of affection became more and more sloppy.

“Hey, no fraternizing in the restroom, you two!”

Butch and Liam broke apart, suddenly, both of them letting out a yelp of surprise. It was Officer Wolfe, standing above them.

“Don’t you two troublemakers have somewhere else to be?”

“Okay, Wolfe,” snapped Butch, standing up, “Don’t flip your lid. You’re right.  We _do_ have somewhere else to be,” he flipped a wink at Liam, giving him a hand up. Liam’s face burned in embarrassment.

“Oh, and Brickly,” Officer Wolfe called, as the two began to exit the restroom, “I just heard about you joining the force. Gomez should be by at some point next week, I reckon.  It’s a good opportunity. Maybe you’ll finally get out of that gang and make something of yourself.”

“He’s already something,” Butch sneered, before Liam could respond “He doesn’t need your approval.”

“Whatever, DeLoria.  Just get out before I have to take you in,” Officer Wolfe insisted, shooing them out.

“I bet you can’t wait to become one of those assholes, huh?” Butch said, as the two walked down the hallway, together.

“Don’t remind me,” groaned Liam, “I can’t believe the overseer asked for this, specifically.”

“It makes sense, though,” replied Butch, “He doesn’t want someone so close to his little girl to turn out a criminal. He probably figures that you’ll protect her, leave the gang, maybe.”

“That’s not happening,” Liam reassured, noting the bitterness in Butch’s voice.

“Damn right it’s not,” Butch nodded.

The two had ended up outside of the DeLoria’s apartment, and Butch stopped to lean against the wall, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and lighting up. He inhaled slowly, as the ashy scent filled the air.

“You know those are going to kill you someday, right?” Liam remarked, teasing in his tone.

Butch shrugged, “Only if livin’ down here doesn’t get to me, first.”

“I know,” Liam sighed, “This life…leaves a lot to be desired.”

Butch scoffed, “It’s fucking imprisonment as far as I’m concerned,” he flicked his cigarette ash onto the concrete vault floor in disdain, “We’re born in the vault, we live in the vault, and we die in the vault! What a crock of shit. I’m not staying here forever, Liam. I can promise you that.”

“You…would actually leave?” Liam asked, taken aback, “How?”

“I don’t know,” Butch replied, “But if I ever find an opportunity, I’ll be taking it. You’d come with me, right?”

Liam gave him a soft smile, and his heart fluttered, “Of course I would.  An adventure like that, getting to see the world, getting to feel real sunlight on my skin, real air, there’s no one I’d rather share that with.”

Butch smiled back, and his eyebrows knit closer in a look of absolute adoration. Without another word, he moved in, pressing a firm kiss to Liam’s lips. The taste of fresh cigarette smoke was clear, but Liam didn’t mind.

“I love you,” Butch breathed, brushing his knuckles against Liam’s cheek.

“And I love you,” Liam echoed, touching his nose to Butch’s.

“Come on,” Butch said, letting out a soft laugh, as he dropped is cigarette, putting it out with his boot, “Let’s see just how adventurous you really are.” And, with that, he pulled Liam into the apartment.


	6. Of Misguided Parents and Their Children

At age nineteen, Liam had become a useful, full-fledged part of Vault 101’s security force. His father couldn’t have been prouder.

It was like the big reward after a hard fought journey, the treasure chest at the end of the hunt. Only the treasure chest was full of shit.

Pacing the hallways, wearing heavy security armor all day and night, pretending to care about what was going on around him, was not what Liam had wanted to do with his life. The days and weeks blurred together, and he had never been more grateful for Butch.

Most days Butch would spend going insane with boredom. With only a few dozen people in population, his services weren’t often called upon. He would spend hours pacing in his apartment, taking smoke breaks in the bright red barber’s chair that had been installed into his bedroom, before the loneliness would cause him to wander out to wherever he could find a friend. Sometimes that meant making his way down to the reactor level to chat, where Paul worked as an engineer. Sometimes it meant hanging out with Wally, who, like him, was put into a little-needed job, as the vault’s little-league coach. Sometimes it meant lounging around in the diner, where Freddie would talk with him between mealtimes. And sometimes, he would search for Liam.

The overseer didn’t like his security force chatting with residents while on duty, so the two usually had to be quick and discreet with their talks. However, they provided some much needed comfort, nonetheless.

Liam was asked to work overtime most weeks, in the hopes that it would keep he and Butch separated. However, they were both too stubborn and in love to let it tear them apart, and Liam had taken to crashing at the DeLoria’s apartment most nights, falling wordlessly into Butch’s bed. Falling asleep beside him wasn’t enough, but it was something. It helped to keep their relationship alive.

The Tunnel Snakes were hanging by a thread, and Butch seemed to be the only one who cared. The five of them still made time for each other, but rarely got up to the kind of trouble that they used to. It just wasn’t convenient. They all still wore their jackets, save for Paul and Liam when they were working, since they were considered “hazardous and against dress code”, but it wasn’t the same.

Liam could see how the years were wearing down on Butch, but had no idea how as to counteract it. Their predestined civilized lives had taken hold, and had no intentions of letting go.

“I can see it in his eyes,” Liam told Paul one day, as he patrolled the lower level of the vault, “He wants to run so badly. He’s started chain-smoking due to the nerves, and he barely sleeps. I don’t know what to do.”

“Maybe you should take him to see your dad,” Paul replied nervously, as he tinkered with the power console, “He could have VDS, you know?”

Liam shook his head, “My dad isn’t a therapist, Paul.”

“But he could prescribe something, like he did for Freddie,” said Paul, voice hollow.

Liam let out a short, bitter laugh, “Yeah, right. Butch wouldn’t let someone put him on chems to save his life, depression or not. Not if it alters him.”

Paul sighed, “I don’t know. You’d think he’d just get over it and be happy that he doesn’t need to work every day. And if I had what you had, I’d be over the moon.”

“We don’t have much these days. The overseer’s scheduling takes care of that,” Liam scoffed.

“You know what I mean, though. Someone waiting at home for you,” Paul said, sheepishly.

“Haven’t given up on Wally yet?” Liam asked, knowingly.

Paul shook his head, “I guess it’s kind of obvious, huh? Yeah. I don’t think I can ever get him to feel the same, though. And now he has Janice…”

“That’s rough,” Liam sympathized, moving to sit on the floor. He figured it was about time for break, anyway.

“That’s life,” Paul replied, somberly, “I’m surprised that none of us are married yet, to be honest. I mean, Freddie and Susie only announced their engagement last week.”

“You think that’s where Wally’s headed? Marriage?” asked Liam.

“I’m not sure,” Paul shrugged, “Wouldn’t surprise me, though. I wouldn’t doubt if Christine and Amata pair up with Steve and Jim in some combination, and I’m the only one left, alone.”

“Paul…” Liam’s heart ached for his friend. He knew what it felt like: the impending doom of loneliness. And it hurt. “I mean, maybe at this point it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to tell Wally how you feel?”

“I don’t think so,” Paul sighed, “Besides, I don’t want to lose him completely, you know? We’ve been friends since we were in diapers.”

Liam bit his lip in contemplation, not knowing how to help the situation.

“How did you do it?” Paul suddenly asked, “Admitting it to Butch, I mean.”

Liam shook his head, “Sorry, Paul, didn’t work that way. He told me first.”

Paul let out a soft chuckle, “Of course he did. He’s definitely always been the more aggressive between the two of you. …I guess there really isn’t any hope for me, is there?”

“I don’t know,” Liam said, honestly, “But he’s pretty stubborn. I can’t see him making a move, regardless of how he feels.”

“Yeah,” Paul gave a sad smile, “Thanks. I don’t know if I can handle this for much longer…keeping it in, I mean. It just…eats at you after a while, you know?”

“I know,” Liam sighed, “And it’s been more than a while for you.”

“It wasn’t exactly instant for you, either, though,” Paul remarked, playfully.

“You’re telling me,” Liam laughed, “Although it was only a few years for me. Did you know that Butch had a crush on me since we were five?”

Paul’s eyebrows furrowed with surprise, “You’re kidding!”

Liam shook his head, “Nope! He told me, himself, right before you guys invited me into the Snakes.”

“Oh my God,” Paul said, before bursting into laughter, “That explains so much!”

“It really does, doesn’t it?” Liam giggled.

“That had to have messed with him, though, holding back his feelings for that long,” Paul replied, “No wonder he had so much animosity toward you when we were growing up. Eleven years,” he let out a heavy breath, “I couldn’t have taken that.”

Liam’s chest gave a painful throb. Rarely had he considered what Butch must have gone through for all of those years, building up walls to protect himself from his feelings, acting tough while coming home to Hell. Suffering alone, and thinking that nobody could help him. 

“God, I love him,” Liam said, softly.

“I know,” Paul said, “It’s like…a slow burning ache. You’d do anything for him. Everything he is and everything he does…become _so_ important. It's...madness.”

“I never knew you were so articulate,” Liam laughed. Paul looked deep in thought, face contorted in hurt.

“Paul, I wish that there was something I could do.”

“It’s alright,” Paul sighed, “It’s just…I want it so badly. But it’s no use. It never really was. It doesn’t even come down to whether Wally is interested in guys or not. He wants to do the vault proud, wants to do his dad proud. He could never…” Paul cleared his throat, obviously fighting back tears, “Never want me.”

Liam could feel himself choking up. He didn’t know what to say. Paul was suffering so much more than he had realized.

“Anyway, I need to finish with this,” Paul motioned to the console. Liam knew what he meant.

“Yeah. Thanks for the talk, Paul.”

And, with that, he stood and made his way to the main level.

The halls were rather empty, as Liam patrolled. Worried and painful thoughts clouded his mind as he walked. He had thought that he had it bad, with James nagging over his shoulder all of the time and his classmates not valuing him. But he had always known where he stood, at least. His father was strict and had a lot of expectations, but the fact that he loved him wasn’t questionable in the least. And even his frustration with Butch had paid off in the end. As much as Liam disliked life in the vault, it had been much kinder to him than to others.

Liam lifted his arm, stretching while he had a moment to do so. Trudging around in armor took quite a toll on his muscles. He unbuckled and lifted his helmet off, letting his sweaty hair air out, deeply breathing in the musty air.

“Officer Brickly.”

Liam’s heart skipped a beat, and a grin slowly made its way over his face as he turned, “Mr. DeLoria.”

Butch gave him a teasing smirk and crossed his arms, daring Liam to make a move. 

“Loitering in the halls, are we?” Liam questioned, taking a few steps towards his partner. After the conversation he had just had, Liam was overwhelmingly happy to see him.

“You got a problem with that, officer?” Butch leaned his head up, as the padding of Liam’s chest armor lightly brushed against him. The red-head was taller than him now, by a couple of inches. 

Liam held back the incredibly strong desire to embrace him, “The overseer might,” he replied, voice barely above a whisper, eyes glittering with mischief.

“Well,” Butch’s volume lowered as well, “What are you going to do about it, sir? We can’t have a delinquent, such as myself, upsetting the overseer, after all.”

Seeing his opening, Liam dropped his helmet on the floor, with a “clank”, and placed his hands on either of Butch’s shoulders. Forcefully, but carefully, he pushed him into a nearby wall. Butch gasped with delight.

Liam leaned in, pressing his lips to Butch’s ear, indulging in his warmth, “I _could_ just take you in…. _Or_ …”

“Or?”  Butch let out a shudder.

“I could deal with you, myself.”

A deep chuckle escaped his throat, as he pulled back slightly, before driving forward, slamming their lips together in a passionate, messy display. Butch let out a guttural moan, as Liam moved against him, working a thigh in-between his legs, feeling the start of Butch’s arousal.

“Fuck.  When do you get off?” Butch panted, voice husky with want.

“Whenever you make me,” Liam smirked, pressing another heated kiss to Butch’s lips.

“You know what I mean,” Butch replied, shakily wrapping his arms around Liam’s waist. It wasn’t often that Liam showed his assertive side. Liam knew how much Butch absolutely loved it, though; and that provoking it was one of his favorite things.

“In about two hours,” Liam said, unwinding himself from his partner, “If the overseer doesn’t tack on more hours, that is.”

Butch groaned, “You shouldn’t start things that you can’t finish, you know.”

“Who said I wasn’t going to,” Liam said, leaning in and giving Butch another kiss, far gentler than the others, and placing a hand on the gang leader’s hip.

Butch looked up at him, intrigued.

Slowly, Liam slid his hand over Butch’s vault suit, pressing firmly onto his growing hardness, all while feeling his own beginning to swell.

“We really gonna do this here?” Butch asked, with paranoia.

“Unless you don’t want to,” Liam responded, pausing for instructions.

“No…I-I wanna. I just…didn’t think you had it in you, to be honest,” Butch said, moving his arms to rest lazily on Liam’s shoulders, face turning a light shade of pink.

Silencing the gang leader with another kiss, Liam set back to work, rubbing against his partner’s covered erection. Butch let out a gentle sigh, letting Liam do whatever he wanted.

It wasn’t long before Butch had had enough of Liam’s taunting, however, “Jesus Christ, can you just get under the suit already?”

“You’re so pushy,” Liam whispered, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. His heart raced, as he went to unzip the front of the brunet’s vault jumpsuit. Along with the leather jacket, the blue and gold garment hung off of Butch’s shoulders delicately, revealing his tan skin. Liam took the opportunity, pressing his mouth hungrily against Butch’s collarbone, sucking and nipping at the flesh there.

“Shit,” Butch yelped, not quite expecting the sudden contact. 

Liam hummed against Butch’s skin, while he reached down, fingering the waistband of his partner’s underwear, before slipping in and pulling out his rapidly stiffening cock. 

Butch bit his lip as his erection hit the air. Liam took back his hand for a moment to spit into his right palm, before gripping Butch firmly. The brunet let out heavy breaths and soft whimpers, as Liam seamlessly stroked him, wiping his thumb over the head whenever beads of pre-cum had gathered, serving as extra lubricant.

“You gonna get in on this?” Butch panted, as his hips began to twitch with pleasure.

“In this armor?” Liam laughed, despite the fact that he certainly did feel the pained hardness of his own member only getting worse.

“Could take it off,” Butch replied.

“Not enough time,” Liam muttered, focusing on the task at hand.

“Goddamnit, nosebleed! Just take off the damn armor. I want to touch you,” Butch snapped, moving to tug at the clasps.

Liam sighed before complying, shoving the armor aside, and unzipping his own jumpsuit, Butch touching himself all the while. Liam looked to his love: watching him, splayed against the wall, head back, eyes closed, pumping his fist up and down his own erection, tugging and squeezing at an increased pace. It was breathtaking.  _He_ was breathtaking.

Liam rushed forward once his dick had sprung free, kissing Butch frantically, tearing at his lips with his teeth. Butch let out a throaty growl, kissing back, roughly, as he reached down to run a hand down Liam’s member, playing with the head, before gripping him tightly at the base. Liam could feel Butch’s heart pounding against his chest. It had been too long since they had done anything like this.

Liam bent his head into the crook of Butch’s neck, as the two caressed and stroked one another, letting out soft, desperate sounds, as they picked up speed, finding themselves closer and closer to release. Feeling Butch’s body beneath his touch, quivering in need and pleasure, nearly sent him over the edge.   

“Butch,” Liam whimpered against his partner’s shoulder. Their movements were growing erratic, and they had become a mess of sweat and thrusting hips. Liam barely managed to lift his head, and the two pressed searing kiss after searing kiss to each other’s lips, a jumble of tongue and teeth, before settling to messily lay their mouths against one another’s, grunting and breathing heavily into each other.  

With a low hiss, Butch came into Liam’s hand, and the red-head followed suit not long after. The two stayed entangled for a few minutes, enjoying the warmth and catching their breath, before slowly pulling apart.

“Meet me at the target range at eight,” Liam proposed, suggestively running his tongue along the edge of his hand, tasting Butch there, “I’ll have a surprise waiting.”

And with that, he hurriedly pulled back on his armor, going back to his duties, leaving his love against the wall, heart throbbing and head shaking in awe and disbelief.

 

It wasn’t often that Liam had the night off. And, so, on the rare occasions that he did, he wanted everything to be perfect.

Paul’s words still echoed in his head, as he sat in the vault’s reactor level, waiting for Butch. What would it have been like to live his life at arm’s length? Could he have taken it, the way that Paul had from Wally? He didn’t think so. He thought back to the frightened fourteen-year-old that he had once been, and how terrified he was of a life of forced partnership, or a life alone.

When the door finally did open, Butch looked utterly confused.

“Alright, I’m here. I swear to God, though, Liam, if you try seducing me into letting you fuck me on the cold, hard ground in here, I’m gonna-”

He stopped, glancing around the room in wonderment. Liam had gone all out – or, at least, as much as he could have, given the circumstances – and the normally dark, dingy room was decked out in strings of lights, with an old record player that the two of them had repaired together, set up in one corner, playing one of James’ Sinatra records, and a bottle of wine sitting on a sheet that Liam had set out in another.

“Holy shit.”

Liam laughed, delighted by the reaction he had gotten, as he crossed the room and embraced Butch, “Like it?”

“This is so sappy,” Butch groaned, “You even got candles?”

“ _A_ candle,” Liam corrected, nodding to the light sitting on top of one of the knocked over lockers.

“And wine?  I guess you being in security ain’t all bad. But you could have stolen something a little less fruity,” Butch laughed.

“I didn’t steal it,” Liam rolled his eyes.

Butch settled into Liam’s arms, placing a chaste kiss onto his jaw, “So, what’s all this for, anyway?”

“I’ve…just been thinking,” Liam started, searching for the right words to say, “About my life before you…before _us_ , and what could have been.”

“You don’t need to think about stuff like that,” Butch huffed, crinkling his nose, “I’m all right here.”

“Yeah,” Liam sighed, “But…do you remember the night I snuck into your room…tried to put glue into your hair gel?”

Butch nodded and smirked, “I never did get you back for that, ya know.”

Liam gave a short chuckle, “Yeah, well…what if things hadn’t gone the way that they did? What if you just threw me out? Or if you had reported me to security?”

“I never woulda turned you in to security,” Butch rolled his eyes, “I hate those bastards! …Present company excluded, of course.”

“I think I worry about you twice as much now, than I did back then,” Liam said, ignoring Butch’s comment, “You’ve got a lot going on these days, Butch.”

“My problem is that I don’t have _enough_ going on,” Butch scoffed, fidgeting in Liam’s arms.

“Hey….” Liam pulled Butch close, and the brunet flusteredly shoved his face against his shoulder, “It’s okay.”  

“No it’s not!” Butch snapped, turning his head to rest his cheek against Liam, “My job is pointless, you’re always gone, and my mom is getting worse! She blacks out, like, four times a week, now. She hasn’t even gotten violent in months. She’s never awake long enough. And making sure she doesn’t choke from the alcohol poisoning sucks.”

“Butch…” For Butch to openly talk about his mother’s issues meant that he was in serious trouble.

“There ain't anything you can do,” Butch put in, before Liam could ask, “She is who she is. But taking care of her…like that. It isn’t easy.”

“I could take some of the burden off of you,” Liam offered, “I come by most nights, anyway.”

“You work hard enough as it is,” Butch said, shaking his head, “I don’t wanna put more on your shoulders.”

“Butch,” Liam took half a step back, taking Butch’s chin in his hand, staring hard into his eyes, “Your burdens are mine. I need you to know that.” He could feel a lump forming in his throat, as he ran a thumb over Butch’s jaw.

“You mean that?” Butch’s voice staggered, causing Liam’s breath to catch in his throat in disbelief.

“Of course! Butch, I’ve loved you for most of my life, I’ve been your boyfriend for three years, and I’ve been part of the gang for even longer! How is that even a question?” Liam exclaimed, before pulling Butch in and kissing him, eyebrows knitting in concern.

“I guess I just feel like it’s all coming undone,” Butch said, softly, “Like nobody’s got my back anymore. Wally and Freddie settling down, you and Paul always busy…”

“I’m not busy now,” Liam smiled, encouragingly, taking Butch’s hand and grasping his waist firmly, swinging him around.

Butch gave into laughter, pressing his forehead to Liam’s, “God, you are such a sentimental loser.”

“So are you,” Liam giggled.

“I am not!” Butch insisted, “Well…I mean, maybe for you. Only for you.”

“I love you,” Liam smiled, before attempting to coax a dance out of his partner.

“I love you, too, dork-face.”

But it was not to last.  It couldn’t.

* * *

“Wake up!  Come on, wake up!”

Everything was hazy, as Liam stirred from his bed. His limbs were still heavy with sleep, as the false lighting glared above, causing him to squint with sensitivity. He looked to see who was making all the noise, instantly recognizing Amata, standing above him.

“Amata?  What are you-”

“Liam! You _have_ to get up!” her voice pierced his ears with urgency.

“Guh,” he managed to sit himself up, pulling his blankets off and flinging them to the side of his bed, “What’s going on?”

“You've got to get out of here! Your dad is gone, and the rest of the security force are looking for you!”

Liam jolted up and out of bed at her words, “What do you mean, my dad is "gone"?”

“He's left the vault!” Amata exclaimed, hazel eyes wide with terror, “I don't know how, but he's gone, and my father... he's kind of gone crazy.”

“Shit,” Liam hissed, tugging at his hair as his pulse spiked, “He couldn’t have just left! It’s impossible!”

“I thought so too. But it's true. He's gone and Jonas is dead and now they're looking for you!”

“Wait!  Jonas…is dead?” Liam sputtered in shock. His heart wrenched. There was just no way.

“Yeah…” Amata’s voice cracked, “M-My father thinks that Jonas helped your dad escape. The security team caught him and brought him to my dad's office and they...  Oh my God,” tears began to slide down her face, “They just beat him, and beat him, and wouldn't stop...”

“Amata…are you okay?” was all that Liam could manage, hands beginning to tremble involuntarily.

“Yeah,” she croaked, “Don't worry about me. I'm just sorry you had to find out like this. I know Jonas was your friend.” 

“I would suggest we go and talk to your father. I am part of his security force, after all,” Liam said, hollowly, “But given the circumstances…”

“He could kill you too, Liam,” Amata replied, “I’m not going to let that happen.”

“So what happens next?” Liam asked, dreading the answer.

“You’ve got to get dressed and get out of here,” Amata said, nodding to Liam’s bedclothes.

“I can leave the apartment, but where am I supposed to go from here?” Liam asked, rushing over to his dresser and yanking out a jumpsuit to put on.

“I'm sorry, but I think you'll have to follow your dad. You'll have to escape from the vault.”

Liam’s stomach flipped. Leave the vault? Actually go? It was the chance that he had been waiting for his entire life. But in that moment, he wasn’t quite so keen. He had no idea as to how he had planned on leaving, but running away in fear for his life wasn’t it.

“Listen...” Amata started, carefully, “Maybe it isn't any of my business, but didn't your dad tell you that he was leaving?”

Liam shut his eyes tightly, head still spinning with all that was going on, “No. I had no idea he was planning to leave."

Liam gritted his teeth, feeling the slow insurgence of anger pooling in the pit of his chest. His father had abandoned him without a word and left Jonas to die. Didn’t he care about what happened to either of them?

“Oh,” Amata looked down, as he finished zipping up his jumpsuit, “I'm sorry. I'm sure he had his reasons. Maybe Jonas was supposed to explain everything to you?”

Liam didn’t respond, his eyes instead flicking to his police baton, which lay across his desk. Dark thoughts, unlike anything he had ever experienced, clouded his thoughts for a single moment.

“It doesn't matter,” Amata finally continued, “I can help you escape.  _I_ have my own plan!”

“How? It’s supposed to be impossible,” Liam asked, voice empty as he reached for his Pip-Boy, strapping it to his arm and sealing the biochemical locks.

“Come on, your dad did it. And he didn't even have my help,” Amata said, smiling softly through her frightened tears. Liam appreciated the effort to lighten the situation, but it didn’t help. “It won't be easy, though,” she continued, “My father sealed the door to the exit to prevent anyone else from following your dad. There's a secret tunnel that leads directly from my father's office to the exit, though. You'll have to hack the computer in his office to open it.”

Liam nodded, not exactly sure how he would pull off hacking a terminal. He was good at fixing computers, not cracking them.

Amata touched Liam’s hand softly in comfort, before pressing a keyring into his palm, “Use these to get into his office. I, uh, stole them from his room.”

“Okay,” he said, taking in a deep, nervous breath.

“You need to be careful, and not just because security is looking for you,” Amata mentioned. 

Liam gave her a quizzical look.

“My father ordered the vault into lockdown,” she explained, “Everyone's supposed to stay in their quarters and emergency lighting only. The radroaches have swarmed out in the darkness, too. And more must have gotten in when your dad opened the door. They’re really aggressive for some reason, I’ve never seen any behave like this. I had a few close calls on my way to see you.”

“Great,” Liam sighed, “Guards _and_ angry bugs.”

“I'll find my father and make sure he doesn't go back to his office,” Amata said, trying to assure her friend, “But you need to hurry. I also have one more thing for you,” she pulled out a 10 mm pistol that she had holstered into a security belt. Liam hadn’t even noticed it in the confusion, “I stole my father's pistol. I hope you won't need it, but you'd better take it just in case.”

Liam looked down at the gun in awe, and shook his head, “I can’t. I have my baton and BB gun, and you’ve already had enough close calls. I don’t like the odds of you not making it without protection.”

“Well... okay,” she said, reluctantly taking the pistol back, “I guess it may come in handy if I run into any more radroaches. But your BB gun isn’t going to hurt security if you run into trouble, Liam.”

“I’ll take my chances,” he assured, sternly.

“Alright,” she sighed, “I'll try to meet you at the exit. Watch out for security. Good luck!”  And with that, she ran out of the apartment.

Without hesitation, Liam began to pack. He didn’t have much, just an old doctor’s bag that his dad had let him hang onto when it became too worn. He shoved an extra jumpsuit, a first-aid kit, his BB gun ammo, and the comic book that Amata had given him for his 10th birthday into the bag.

He went to pick up his BB gun and the baton, pausing for a moment, as he spotted his Tunnel Snakes jacket, draped over his desk chair. His heart gave a twinge of excitement as he picked it up and slipped it on. He was _leaving_. He needed to find Butch.

Poking his head out of the apartment, the first thing he saw made his stomach drop. A few steps away stood Officer Kendall. Luckily, he was crowded by massive roaches, the length of Liam’s arm.

Taking a deep breath, he ran, kicking his way through the roaches as Officer Kendall shouted after him. Liam cursed, as he crushed a roach’s head beneath the heel of his boot. He didn’t have time to stop and help him, as much as he would have liked to. Doing so would only lead to death, regardless.

Tearing left, Liam headed straight for the DeLoria apartment. None too surprisingly, he found Butch, running towards him before he even got halfway down the hall, fear imprinted on his face. The two collided, and Butch pulled anxiously at Liam’s sleeve.

“Liam! You gotta help me! My mom's trapped in there with the radroaches!”

“Shit,” Liam gasped, yanking off his BB gun and thrusting it into Butch’s hands, “Come on! Let's go see if we can help her,” he readied his baton.

“I can't go back in there!” Butch insisted, hanging back, “It's... it's dark, and there's radroaches.”

“I gave you my gun,” Liam insisted, “There isn’t time! I’m right beside you, but we need to move!”

Liam had never quite understood Butch’s fear of insects, but the moment that he entered the apartment, he could see why Butch had been so scared. Ellen DeLoria lay on the floor, screaming as the roaches swarmed over her body, biting and tearing at her flesh.

“Get away, you filthy thing!” her words slurred with drunkenness. Her eyes flicked up to see the two boys, rushing to her aide, “Butchie, please help me!”

Liam moved forward first, shoving a roach off of her with his baton, before whacking it hard, killing it with a sickening squish. Butch took longer, shakily lining up shot after shot, pelting the large insects.

When the last roach was dead Ellen was, thankfully, still breathing. Butch helped her to her feet and into a nearby dining chair, “Where did those ... things... come from?  Ugh. I need another drink,” she hadn’t even thanked either one of them for saving her life.

“Are you alright, mom?” Butch asked, squeezing her arm and looking over her features, concerned.

“Get me a bottle of vodka, and I will be,” she replied, dizzily.

Liam took Butch by the hand, pulling him into his bedroom for a moment.

“I think she’s going to be okay,” Butch said, relieved, pulling Liam in and hugging him tightly.

“That’s really good news, Butch, but I have something even better,” Liam said, squeezing back, “We’re leaving!”

“What?  What do you mean we’re leaving?”  Butch pulled back, looking up at Liam.

“The lockdown,” Liam explained, “The commotion, it’s because my dad escaped. He left. I don’t know where to, but Amata said that security is looking for me. They…killed Jonas,” Liam’s voice dropped and his stomach clenched in horror again, remembering his fallen friend.

“Fuck,” Butch growled, pulling a hand down his face, “Liam, I can’t leave!”

Liam’s heart stopped, “Why the hell not?”

“Liam, did you see what just happened? My mom still needs me! What if something else comes along?” Butch exclaimed, “I can’t just leave her alone after that!”

Liam knitted his eyebrows in displeasure, “Why not? You said it yourself, she’ll be okay!  Why would you-”

“Because she’s my mom, Liam!” Butch hissed, eyes clearly shining with tears, “I’m all she has. You think I don’t wanna go with you?”

“Butch…you’re really going to make me leave you behind?” Liam’s heart sunk into his stomach.

“I…I’m gonna come after you, okay?  Just…not right now,” Butch’s fingertips brushed Liam’s face, and they both began to cry.

“Here,” Liam looked to see Butch taking off his jacket. He held it out, “Take it.”

Liam’s heart skipped a beat, “Butch, I can’t-”

“Take it,” Butch insisted again, shoving it into his arms, “As a promise. I’m _going_ to find you, Liam.”

Liam accepted the garment, shrugging out of his own jacket to put it on, “I want you to take mine, then.”

“You sure?” Butch asked, taking the jacket from him.

“Yeah. I can’t leave a Tunnel Snake jacketless, right?” Liam said, smiling gently through his tears.

Butch put on the jacket. It was a little tight, given the broadness of his shoulders, but he didn’t seem to mind.

“Keep the gun, too,” Liam croaked, voice raw from crying, “In case any more radroaches show up. I don’t think it’ll do me much good with what I’m going up against.”

Butch nodded, hesitantly, before slinging the BB gun’s strap over his shoulder, “Thanks.”

There were a few moments of silence, where the air hung in thick despair, before Butch spoke again.

“Liam, I’m so sorry.”

“I know,” Liam choked out, looking to him through blurry eyes. Butch was shaking, fists clenched into balls against his chest. He looked so small in that moment. He was throwing it all away, his love, his freedom, all for the person who had, unknowingly, put him through Hell his entire life. 

But wasn’t that exactly what Liam was doing? He was part of the security force. There had to be a way to talk the overseer into letting him stay. He could put the blame all on his father, turn on him. It _was_ his entire fault, after all. All of that bullshit about being loyal to the vault, and this is what he had chosen.

His father had done nothing but lie to him his entire life, Liam saw that now. And yet, he was willing to follow him, and not just because he needed to in order to live. He _wanted_ to find James: Both to ask him why and to make sure that he was okay. He was the only family he had. Butch and he had always been similar in that way.

“I love you,” Butch managed, beginning to sob, “I fucking love you so, so much.”

“And I love you,” Liam replied, moving in and pressing his lips against Butch’s, kissing him desperately, deeply afraid that it would be their last moment together. “I always will.”

Slowly, Liam backed out of the room, staring at the crying, beautiful mess of a man in front of him, as his heart fell apart into ruins. He left without saying goodbye.

He didn’t have long to mourn his lost love, however, and it wasn’t long before he ran into another problem. 

The smell of smoke set Liam on edge, as he neared the clinic. 

Inching closer, he could see Andy, putting out what was left of a fire, one that he had doubtlessly created, as the scorched remains of several radroaches lay about the hallway. Officer Gomez was fighting off a small group of them close by. The officer put all of his strength into a final “thwack” of his police baton, before downing the last of the pests. He looked up before Liam could sneak by.

“Liam! Hold on, son! I just want to talk to you for a minute!”

Against his better judgement, the red-head obliged, turning back to the officer.

There was a significant amount of worry mounted on Gomez’s face, as he approached the younger man, “You're lucky it was me who found you. The others won't be so forgiving,” he said, nervously, “I don't know what you're up to and I don't want to know. Just clear out of here and I'll pretend I never saw you.”

“Yeah?” Liam snapped at the officer, “And I'll pretend you don't work for a homicidal maniac!” The venom in his voice was unusual, but so were the circumstances.

“Don't think I don't know it,” Gomez replied, “Why do you think I'm letting you go? I guess you're trying to follow your dad... outside. Good gravy, if I didn't know what the overseer would do if he caught you, I'd never tell you to try for it, but it's your only shot.”

“Jonas…” Liam sighed, stomach clenched up in nerves at the continuation of the thought.

Gomez nodded, solemnly, “I had some…words with the overseer when I saw what they'd done. It didn’t matter, though,” he clutched his baton tighter, and his hands began to noticeably tremble, “But you're a good kid. You didn't do anything to deserve this. Go find your dad, if you can.”

Liam nodded, “Thanks Herman…take good care of Freddie. He’ll need his dad in all of this.”

Turning away, he made his way to the atrium. He could hear angered shouting coming from the Mack’s apartment, as he sped through the hallways. Three dead bodies were encountered as he ran. He ignored them all, despite the twisting in his core, pushing himself forward. His only priority was escape.

Then he heard the gunshot. The sound pierced his ears, and he looked around wildly, attempting to find his attacker. But there was no one there. He could hear shouting coming from around the corner, as well as loud footsteps, running in the opposite direction.

Without hesitation, Liam threw himself to the floor, crawling down the hall and past the security office.

“Oh, God. What am I supposed to do with her?” a voice grumbled. It was the overseer, sitting in a desk chair, holding his face in his hands. Luckily, he hadn’t noticed Liam creeping by. Liam, however, noticed the blood, pooling out of a freshly shot security guard in the doorway.

It was Stevie Mack, deceased.

Liam felt his stomach lurch, as he moved past the room, having to stop after a few feet to catch his breath. Someone had killed Officer Mack. Never in a million years could Liam see him betraying the overseer. He was always too eager to please.  So if Alphonse Almodovar didn’t kill him…

Liam continued crawling down the hallway until he hit the end, where Amata and her father lived. The overseer’s office would be there. Liam stood before entering the apartment, but what he found there made him wish that he hadn’t.

“Jonas!” the body that lay, crumpled in the center of the room, was barely recognizable. Liam rushed over, falling to his knees and letting out a choked sob. The black, thick-rimmed glasses that usually sat on his friend’s face were now smashed inward, glass shards from shattered lenses buried deep into his skin. The bruising was severe, and the blood had begun to dry. Jonas Palmer’s body was destroyed and his life taken. The essence of the violence that had occurred practically echoed off of the walls, as Liam clung to Jonas’ lab coat, near-screaming with anguish. 

He had been told that he was gone. He knew. But to see it was unlike anything he had ever experienced. Being told was painful and then numbing. Seeing, experiencing. It was raw.

Suddenly, Liam could feel pressure at his ribs and back. Startled, he pushed away, trying to get out of whoever’s grasp he was in.

“Liam! Liam, it’s just me!”  It was Amata.

“Amata,” he stopped struggling to relax into her arms, closing his eyes tightly.

“It’s horrible, I know,” she murmured into his shoulder.

“I can’t believe that they did this,” Liam replied, through tears.

Amata helped Liam back to his feet and handed him something.

“It’s a holotape. I didn’t listen to it, I promise. I found it on Jonas. I wanted to make sure you got it before my father.”

“Thanks,” Liam said hollowly, pocketing the recording. He looked back to Amata, truly seeing her face. It was covered in bruises, and there was dried blood caked around her nostrils.

“Officer Mack…” Amata said, nervously, “My father wanted to know where you were, so he…”

“He had Mack beat you?” Liam asked, shocked. 

Amata nodded, avoiding his gaze.

Liam balled his hands into fists, “He’s very lucky that he’s your father,” Liam hissed, darkly.

“Liam!” Amata sounded surprised, “You would never-”

“I would,” he spat back, “ _I would_.”

“I told you, my father isn’t himself. But that doesn’t mean that we have to sink to his level,” Amata scolded, “…or at least you don’t have to.”

“Because you already did,” Liam replied, coldly, “You shot Officer Mack, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t have a choice!” Amata exclaimed, “My father might have had him kill me! Or I’d be forced to hand you over!”

Liam’s expression softened. He knew that he wasn’t being fair. He wanted revenge, for Amata, for Jonas, for he and Butch. Hurting others was wrong, and he knew that. But he had never wanted to more.

“I know. I’m sorry, Amata. Let’s…Let’s just get that door open.”

Leaving Jonas’ body behind, the two made their way to the office, unlocking the door with the keys that Amata had given Liam.

Liam approached the multiple screened terminal at the back of the office, “So, any idea what the password might be?” he asked.

“None,” Amata replied, “I’ll take a look around, he probably wrote it down somewhere,” she began to rummage through a locker that stood to their right.

Liam sighed, absentmindedly typing in the first thing he could think of. Suddenly, lines of code began to quickly bring themselves up on screen, and he was in.

“Amata?”

Amata turned to look at him.

“His password was your name,” Liam explained, “How ironic.”

Liam began to sift through notes, transferring a few to his Pip-Boy, as Amata came up behind him.

“Look at this,” Amata said, pointing to the screen, “Scouting reports?”

Liam selected the option to view said reports and read aloud:

“ _As our tests suggested, the immediate vicinity of the vault is no longer dangerously irradiated, although the background radiation is still well above safe levels.  Pockets of more intense radiation appear to still be common, and all surface water seems to be undrinkable.  We will need to carry ample supplies of Rad-X with us on all future surveys.  But hazard suits do not seem to be necessary for general exploration._

_Our old maps are largely useless.  The town of Springvale is an abandoned ruin, and all pre-war roads have disappeared or are no longer passable._

_We encountered a group of monstrous ants which appeared to confirm Mackay's theories of mutation due to extended exposure to radiation.  We drove off the ants with gunfire and collected several specimens for study upon return to the vault._

_The good news is that human civilization still survives, despite everything!  We discovered a settlement known as "Megaton", whose inhabitants, although somewhat wary at first, soon welcomed us into their town._

_We spent a good deal of time in Megaton, and learned a great deal about the "Capital Wasteland" (as the area around Washington D.C. is now called) from them. Megaton is a fortified outpost of "civilization" (of sorts), but it seems that Giant Ants are the least of the dangers of this new world.  We agreed that it was prudent to return to the vault immediately to revise our survey plans in light of what we have learned.  Lewis and Agnes remained in Megaton to serve as "ambassadors" and continue to collect information until we return._ ”

“So people _have_ been outside before!” Amata gasped, “Our parents have been lying to us this whole time!”

Liam's stomach tightened. Not only had his father been a hypocrite, telling him how safe the vault was, and how important it was that they stay there, but he had lied as well.

“We're born in the vault, we die in the vault,” he whispered.

“Look here,” Amata said, pointing out the bottom of the report, “Anne Palmer, 2241. That’s Jonas’ mom!"

“2241,” Liam commented, “That was 36 years ago,” he scrubbed at his face with anxious irritation, “God, this is such fucking shit.”

“You sound like Butch,” Amata commented.

Liam’s heart jerked in agony at the mention of Butch’s name, “You need to tell him,” he said, turning to look Amata in the eye, “He needs to know.”

Amata sighed, “He’s not going with you, is he?”

Liam shook his head, trying to prevent himself from crying again.

Amata simply squeezed his arm in comfort, “You know how much he’s going to gloat, right? That he was right all along?”

Liam let out a bitter chuckle and a sigh, “Yes, he will.”

“Come on,” Amata said, after a few moments more, “We still need to get you out of here.”

She activated the doorway to the tunnel, and the large, circular desk behind them began to lift, revealing a hidden stairway. The two trudged down in silence, opening door after door until they reached their destination, making sure to seal as many as they could behind them, as to delay any chase that might be given.

Liam had never seen the entrance to Vault 101 before. He figured that not many people had. The room was cold and dark, with the metal floors, walls, and piping he was used to all running to the concrete exit, where a massive, cog-shaped door lumbered, sealing them from the outside world from birth.

They approached the console next to the exit. “This is it,” Liam breathed, looking down, “This is really it.”

He placed the hand on the lever, and Amata gave him an encouraging look. Gritting his teeth, he pulled.

Alarms began to blare, and a loud hiss made its way to their ears, as the door began to slowly slide back.

“Amata,” Liam turned to his best friend, heart pounding, “You could come with me, you know,” his voice was hopeful, but he knew better.

Amata shook her head, sadly, “It's tempting, but... no. My place is here. I may be the only one who can stop my father before something even worse happens. The vault needs me more than you do.”

“He's opening the vault door! Get the overseer! We need this door open now!”

The two younger vault residents spun around in fear, hearing angry clanging at the door behind them.

“You need to go!” Amata insisted, pushing Liam toward the exit.

“No way!” he argued, “What if you get caught! I’m not going to let them hurt you again!”

“I still have the pistol!” she reminded him, “I can handle myself! Go!”

The door flung open, and two other vault security officers rushed in. Liam did as he was told, looking back just in time to see Amata bury two bullets into each officer, watching them drop almost instantly. 

Things could never go back to the way that they were in Vault 101. But Liam believed in Amata. He believed in his friends and his gang, Butch, Paul, Freddie, maybe even Wally. He hoped that they’d take care of one another in the days to come.

With a heavy heart, Liam stood in the rocky underground tunnel, as the giant door moved back into place, locking him out forever.

He turned to leave, ready to face the blinding sun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did a oneshot to go with this chapter from Wally's POV titled Departures, if anyone is interested. I'm going to be doing a handful of oneshots throughout the making of this fic, throwing in different stories and perspectives for fun.


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